Heart Of A Warrior
by thablackkuririn
Summary: Krillin, an orphan raised by Orinji monks, has an encounter that changes the rest of his life. A complete rewrite of DBZGT from Krillin's perspective that shows true strength comes not from the body, but the Heart. THE LONG AWAITED 5TH CHAPTER IS NOW UP!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Dragonball is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama and Toei and licensed to FUNImation. I had nothing to do with it's creation; if I had, you wouldn't be reading this. Anyway, all non-Toriyama characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so FUNI, if you're reading, please leave your lawyers to people who are actually infringing your copyrights for profit.  
  
And now, our feature presentation...  
  
Heart of a Warrior  
Prologue  
  
The moon shone in all its glory, casting its silvery glow over the thickly forested mountain. The nocturnal creatures howled, welcoming the rays of their "sun". They ran about in the forest, causing the very trees to almost seem alive. The woman trudging up a dark, narrow path through those very woods tried earnestly to ignore the activity. She was frightened but knew that it would be ten times as frightening if she turned back. He would make certain of it...  
  
The infant in her arms murmured softly in response to the various noises but, thankfully, did not awaken. She smiled sadly as she hugged the child closer and kissed it on the head. After another half hour of brisk walking, the forest began to thin out. She could see the moonlit monastery's walls a hundred yards ahead. Her pace quickened till she was almost running as she neared her destination. She rushed through the main entrance of the monastery and headed directly towards the main dormitory that housed the Head monk and the disciples. She finally stopped when she reached the short flight of steps that lead up to the building. Her breath was quick from exertion and, perhaps, from   
apprehension of what she had travelled to the monastery to do.  
  
The child in her arms, jostled awake by the running, began to cry softly. She slowly sat down on the steps and she began to rock back and forth to comfort her child.   
  
"Shhhh...shhhh...it's ok Krillin" she whispered in soothing tones. She fought hard to keep her emotions from welling up but failed. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed and hugged her child tightly. "I'm sorry to do this to you Krillin, but it's for your own good..."  
  
She removed the pack that hung on her back and took a small basket from it. She placed the child into the basket and attached a note to the blankets with a pin. Sobbing, she picked up the basket and walked up the stairs, placing the basket directly in front of the large double doors of the dormitory. Taking the large brass doorknocker in hand, she pounded on the door to awaken the monks. She bent over to kiss him for the last time and was startled when his eyes fluttered open and looked directly into hers. They almost seemed to say "I understand". She kissed his brow, then rose and ran down the stairs, towards the monastery's entrance. The infant Krillin began wailing as soon as his mother was out of sight.  
  
Inside the dormitory, people were stirring in response to the knocking. As was customary, the first to arrive at the door waited respectfully for the Head monk to arrive. Before long, all the monks were assembled before the door. Even through the thick wooden doors they could hear the high pitched wail of Krillin. Surprisingly enough, none of them seemed surprised by it.  
  
The Head monk finally arrived and opened the door, knowing full well what he would find. He bent over and picked up the basket containing the baby Krillin, then walked back into the building. He handed the basket to another orange-robed monk, then unpinned the note and read it aloud.  
  
"To the benevolent monks of the Orinji temple, I leave my child, Krillin, here in the hopes that you will care for him in my stead. I am unable to fulfill my duties as his mother due to circumstances that would mean sure death for him. I beg you, please protect his life and raise him as one of your order. God bless your kindness."  
  
The Head monk sighed deeply, ignoring the sharp cries of the infant. It sometimes amazed him that, despite the remoteness of the Orinji monastery, mothers still managed to bring infants here to abandon. Fortunately the monastery was always ready to raise infant children, even if they only arrived every three or four years. The order was also bound by their oath to help anyone in need. He sighed again.  
  
"I'm getting too old for this." he said to no one in particular. The other monks looked at him intently, many hoping that they would get passed over for the duties that were clearly about to be assigned.   
  
"Brother Kenjo, Brother Mikail, you will be in charge of the care for Krillin. Your training and teaching schedules will be adjusted accordingly so that you may have more time for him."  
  
"But master..." the two monks in question exclaimed.  
  
"But nothing. Despite what you may have thought before becoming monks, our order is about more than fighting and ceremony. We are bound to protect the weak and innocent and to help those in need." he scolded. "This will be a good learning experience for you both. And it is your duty to the order. Have I made myself clear?"  
  
"Yes master." they responded with little enthusiasm. Kenjo took the basket and looked at the still crying child. He smiled despite himself and the piercing cry.   
  
"Come on, Brother Mikail, the child is surely hungry. Maybe some food will quiet him."  
  
Mikail nodded and followed the Kenjo to the kitchen. The other monks, glad to have escaped the responsibility, began returning to their quarters under the watchful eye of the the Head monk and his advisors.  
  
"Master," one said, scratching at the six dots above his nose nervously, "Is it wise to harbor this child?"  
  
"We are in no danger, Brother Coto." the Head monk replied.  
  
"Are you sure? He will be angry." the other monk asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm certain he will be Brother Toco. However, he can pose no threat to us. Where our monastery begins, his power ends. God is on our side, brothers."  
  
"As you will it, master." they replied, bowing. They turned and headed for their quarters, leaving the Head monk to his own thoughts.  
  
"Little Krillin, there is much ahead for you, God willing." 


	2. Krillin, Fight! A Boost of Confidence

Disclaimer: Dragonball is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama and Toei and licensed to FUNImation. I had nothing to do with it's creation; if I had, you wouldn't be reading this. Anyway, all non-Toriyama characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so FUNI, if you're reading, please leave your lawyers to people who are actually infringing your copyrights for profit.  
  
And now, our feature presentation...  
  
Heart of a Warrior  
Chapter 1 – Krillin, Fight! A Boost of Confidence.  
  
The assembled group of men, women, and children watched a young boy named Krillin perform a weapon kata on the small demonstration mat before them. They cheered as he performed another complex move punctuated with a loud, crisp "Ai-yah!". Krillin, however, heard nothing more than the beating of his heart, the rhythm of his breathing, and the swishing of his weapon as it cut through the air. He totally focused on the kata and the five foot long bo staff he was expertly handling. The staff twirled almost too fast for the eye as he transferred it from his right hand to his left. He tucked the staff so that it was parallel to his arm, somehow arresting its momentum nearly instantaneously. Krillin stepped forward on his left foot and launched himself forward into a handless cartwheel, which transferred into a double back flip. Halfway through the somersault, he whipped the staff from it's resting place, twirling it till he landed in the two handed ready position. Charging forward with two jabs meant for the head, Krillin then gracefully pirouhetted to his right, spinning the staff almost like a baton and bringing it around behind himself. The staff seemed to slip till it was almost out of his control, but he tightened his grip and caught it just in time. With a big, corkskrew-like leap that might easily clear a grown man, Krillin launched himself into the air, using gravity and torque to provide power for his final downward strike. His landing was as light as a cat but the staff impacted with a loud "THWACK!" on the mat. Rising from the final position of the kata, he tucked the staff behind his right arm before bowing to the Master and audience.  
  
Astounded by the young boy's performance, the tour group erupted into applause, jarring the focused boy back to reality. Realizing the ovation was for him, his cheeks began to burn from embarrassment. Somehow, he felt that he had not deserved applause for what he thought was only an adequate performance. Hastily, he rushed to leave the mat and, more importantly, the center of attention.  
  
"Well done, Krillin!" a beaming Brother Kenjo remarked, smiling. "You grow more and more skilled in our style every day."  
  
"Ah...you don't have to exaggerate so much." Krillin replied, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "It was just a basic kata..."  
  
"Nonsense. You did very well. Besides," Brother Kenjo motioned at the still applauding crowd, "they seemed to like it."  
  
Krillin could not argue with that but he reminded himself that the crowd had never seen the kata performed correctly. He saw that everyone in the crowd was cheering except for an orange-haired man who looked, in Krillin's quick estimation, to be a martial artist of no small calibur. The man looked, at the very least, bored, and Krillin could not blame him. He was probably the only person that felt that the performance was merely mediocre. Krillin more than agreed with the man. In his own view, he was sure that it had been flawed somewhere. Thus, as he quickly returned to his place in the third row of students from the front, he began to dissect and analyze the kata. So engrossed was he in this that Krillin was completely oblivious to the malevolent glares directed at him by four older looking boys in the first row.  
  
The Master talked briefly to the crowd before bowing to the assembly of students sitting on the floor. They returned their Master's gesture in unison, then stood up to return to their training or chores. The few Brothers that had been assigned to the assembly stayed around to make sure they did not attempt to turn the break from work into a day off.  
  
Krillin headed off toward his next training session, located on the other side of the monastery's grounds. However, his mind was not preparing him for the training. Instead, he continuously replayed the kata in his head, finding flaws where, truthfully, there were none. As he always tended to do over such things, he was chiding himself for an apparent lapse in training and resolving to adjust accordingly. Unfortunately he was finding himself doing this far too often lately, bringing his already low self-confidence even lower. Krillin's mentality, while stressing good work ethic, caused him to constantly tear down any of his accomplishments. Besides that, he received more than his fair share of negative re-inforcement, primarily because of his somewhat diminutive stature and because he was an orphan raised by the order. After two years of hard work Krillin had finally passed the test to begin training in the Orinji style of martial arts and, after a few months, rapidly began distinguishing himself. However, the other students in the program were hostile towards Krillin because of his nearly prodigious advancement. Now, almost two years later, he had become severely self-critical and introverted, much to the detriment of his martial arts skills.  
  
"Why did Master let me continue with that performance?" he thought to himself. "I must've totally embarrassed the Orinji order with it...it's like I never even practiced before. Why can't I do things right for once?"  
  
A tall boy, lanky, bald boy wearing a student's garments stood directly in Krillin's path, a fact that escaped him while he berated himself. It was one of the boys who had been shooting evil looks at Krillin earlier. His current look was no different.  
  
"Well if it isn't little Krillin, the wannabe martial artist." he sneered. The remark jarred Krillin out of his thoughts. "You must think you're really great, huh?"  
  
Krillin froze immediately, fear seizing his body. The voice belonged to one person, a person he feared above all others. A boy named Xander. Forcing his fear back, he slowly looked up at the owner of the voice. Suddenly, Krillin took off towards Xander who, expecting an attack, dropped into a defensive stance. With a small grunt, Krillin jumped over Xander and ran down the corridor like the devil was on his tail.  
  
Krillin hazarded a glance backwards as he heard Xander yell at his cronies to run after him. He saw three other big boys running from behind where he had been standing. They had obviously been there to cut off any escape attempt. That he had escaped despite their efforts brought a small smile to Krillin's face as he quickly outstripped the pursuit. It wasn't often, lately, that he could truly say he had gotten the better of those boys.  
  
For Krillin, these chases occurred almost twice daily since he had begun martial arts training at the Orinji temple. Because he was abnormally short he was a favorite target for abuse by Xander and his group. They were two years older than him and ranked two levels above him in the martial arts program. Xander was the ring leader and hated him especially. Krillin could only conclude that it was out of jealousy, as he had advanced to his current ranking (6th level) in the same time that Xander had advanced through the two levels above his own. Still, Krillin was no fool. Despite his training, Xander was capable of beating him one on one. Against three others of Xander's ranking he could not possibly hope to win. Not that he had not ever tried; the one time he foolishly tried to stand his ground and fight had been the last time. He was beaten so badly that he was out for a week. The monks (except for his caretakers) were not exactly enthusiastic about finding the culprits and he did not give the names away for fear of further attacks. Krillin decided then that he would learn to deal with it on his own.  
  
Since then, Krillin had been playing cat and mouse with them. His best strategy was to run hard and fast. At least then he had a chance of getting away unscathed. It also happened to play to his primary strengths, speed and agility. Over the two years, the daily pursuits had increased his speed, agility, and endurance to levels very near the warrior monks. The chases then became more of an exercise for the brain, as Xander and his group began using more clever ways of catching their prey. Krillin, even with his superior speed, still had a good chance of being caught in the labyrinthine halls of the monastery if he did not use his head. Thus, he also developed his intuition and danger sense to help cope with the attacks.  
  
The voices faded as he put distance between himself and the pursuers. He slowed down to a jog, making sure to stay alert. His plan had worked this time and allowed him to escape. Like a prey animal, his fight or flight instincts required him to adapt new ways to escape danger. The previous day had seen Xander and his cronies victorious. The had cut off his rear escape route and, when Xander had appeared in the front, Krillin had run right into their hands. These ploys only worked once with Krillin, a fact that he knew they would ignore. He figured all he would have to do is to confuse them for a few moments so he could get away. Charging at Xander had worked like a charm in that respect. Krillin did not waste time patting himself on the back, however. They could still get him if he was not careful.  
  
Ten minutes later he slowed to a walk. He had not heard anything for a while and did not see a reason to keep running. Besides, he had been caught on more than one occasion when he ran without thinking. Walking, he could hear and see better. He slowly advanced down the corridor towards an intersection of halls. Cautiously, Krillin peeked around the corner. A fist closed in faster than he could react, hitting him directly in his face.  
  
Krillin rolled backwards with the blow as pain exploded in his face, ending back on his feet a few feet away. He shook his head to clear the spots from his vision, then leapt to the side. A pair of hands grabbed him roughly and lifted him into the air while he thrashed about wildly. Krillin braced himself as he saw the wall approach too quickly. The hands slammed him into the wall two more times, as if the first time was not enough. He closed his eyes tightly, eyes watering and head swimming.  
  
"You'd think you'd figure it out by now, runt. You can't run from us." Krillin heard Xander say. "You think you're better than us? You like trying to show us up, don't you? DON'T YOU?!!!"  
  
Krillin wisely decided to hold his tongue. Angering the bully any further would only make things worse and nothing helped anger Xander more than being interrupted. The older boy slowly walked around in front of him.  
  
"You went and stole the final spot for the demonstration today, the spot you knew was mine. What'd you do, get your gay 'fathers' to get you in?"  
  
"Wait a minute, they had nothing-" Krillin began indignantly. A loud smack resounded as Xander slapped him across the face.  
  
"Did I say you could talk, runt?" Xander said menacingly, rubbing his hand. "See guys, this is what I'm talking about. Now he thinks he doesn't have to respect us. Apparently the runt doesn't know his place. I think we ought to help him adjust his attitude."  
  
Krillin's stomach knotted with apprehension, especially as he heard his tormentors laugh and pop their knuckles in anticipation of causing him pain. Once again his familiarity with the situation kicked in as his adrenaline began to pump. He looked up from the ground at his attacker, not so much out of defiance as out of necessity. He had to see the blows as they came so that he could maneuver to receive the least amount of damage.  
  
Xander's right fist shot out and slammed into his midsection. Krillin tightened his abdominals and exhaled, decreasing the impact of the blow. Several more blows followed sending waves of pain through his stomach. The bully ended the string of blows with a vicious uppercut that knocked Krillin's head back. His eyes watered and he tasted the metallic tang of blood, but he never made more noise than a grunt each time a blow landed. Before a following blow could land, however, someone yelled out.  
  
"STOP IT!!!" a female voice yelled. Everyone whipped their heads around to see the source of the voice. Krillin saw, what he thought, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, standing ten feet away. He noted her long blonde hair, outsider clothing, and tour badge and remembered seeing her earlier. He just as quickly became afraid for her safety. There was no telling what Xander and his gang might do to her.  
  
His thought was probably unnecessary since the three flunkies had all paled slightly, sending questioning glances at their leader. Xander wore a look of indecision before calling back to the girl.  
  
"You'd better get lost, little girl, if you know what's good for you." he threatened.  
  
Surprisingly, she did not appear to be intimidated by the statement, despite having the attention of four much bigger boys. She smirked at them. "I guess I don't know what's good for me then cause I'm not going anywhere as long as you keep bullying him."  
  
"Bullying? What bullying? We were just talking...face to face." Xander replied. The girl snorted, unconvinced.  
  
"I didn't know 'talking' involved beating someone while they're being restrained." she threw back.  
  
"Xander, let me handle her." One of the boys, a short, thick, ugly guy named Cale said, laughing at her. Xander smirked, then nodded his approval.  
  
The bully walked towards the girl cracking his knuckles and chuckling. "Heh heh...you should've run when you had the chance."  
  
By now, Krillin was fairly chomping at the bit. He knew, more than anyone else, what these boys were capable of and was rightfully afraid for the girl's safety, especially since it was on his account. "Xander, stop this! She has nothing to do with us...leave her out of it!"  
  
The outburst angered Xander, just as Krillin had anticipated. The older boy swung his fist at Krillin's face. He snapped his head back, receiving only a glancing hit and bashing the back of his head into the face of the unexpecting person holding him. The boy cried out in pain and dropped Krillin, who fell to one knee on the ground and rolled forward, narrowly avoiding a kick from Xander. He exploded onto his feet, intent on stopping the boy advancing on the girl.  
  
Krillin stopped short, amazed at what transpired over the next 2 seconds. The bully lazily swung his right fist at the girl, who deftly dodged the lackluster attack by stepping to the left. As the missed attack carried him off balance she swung her right leg around in a swift roundhouse kick. Her toes pointed directly at the boy's solar plexus, the exact place where they slammed into his body. He crashed to his knees, sucking air to replace the wind that she had so forcefully helped evacuate. He remained on the ground with his eyes bulged, clutching his midsection, and gasping for breath.  
  
The other boys looked on with no less shock than Krillin felt. He quickly recovered, however, and moved to the girl. She smiled at him before turning an angry glare to the other bullies. "You guys had better leave us alone now or I'll tell the monks about this! You know what'll happen then."  
  
All five Orinji students understood exactly what she meant. Misconduct (verified by more than one person) meant automatic expulsion. Though they might ignore Krillin's word alone, they would take the word of an outsider to be more important. The bullies knew well enough to cut their losses. They began backing away slowly.  
  
"This ain't over, runt!" Xander said as he backed away. "You can't hide behind your girlfriend forever!"  
  
Krillin understood the not-so vague threat well enough. When the girl was safely gone, they would be waiting to finish what they had started. He could only guess how bad that encounter would be. It was just as well, in his opinion, as long as she was not harmed. When they had finally moved out of sight, Krillin slowly rose from the defensive stance he had unknowingly assumed. He exhaled, letting the tension and adrenaline flow away before turning back to the girl.  
  
She greeted him with a radiant smile that Krillin committed to his photographic memory. He was so taken with admiring her that he missed what she said. "Uh...sorry, can you repeat that?" he asked sheepishly.  
  
"I asked if you are OK." Concern was written all over her face.  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure, I'm fine." he replied, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"Are you sure? They looked like they worked you over pretty badly."  
  
"Well, it's not the worst they've ever done to me. Don't worry about it."  
  
The girl looked shocked. "You mean they've done this more than once?!!"  
  
"Well, it happens maybe once or twice a day. Depends on how they feel, I guess."  
  
"Why don't you tell someone? Surely the monks..." she trailed off as Krillin shook his had sadly.  
  
"They don't know or don't care. And I can't tell anyone as long as there aren't any witnesses." The two began walking down the corridor. "They'll just lie about the situation and then hurt me later. I just have to deal with it till I can do something about it."  
  
"But I'm a witness! I could go tell the brothers..."  
  
"I don't know if that would work. The most they would do is expel Cale for attacking you. As for attacking me...I don't even think they care about me. I'm an orphan, a nobody." Krillin said bitterly.  
  
The girl fell silent for a moment. "Why not try fighting back?"  
  
"I...I did, once." he replied quietly. "I-it was the worst beating I've ever had. I don't want to go through that again."  
  
An uncomfortable silence fell between the two, leaving the sound of their feet on the floor as the only audible noise. The girl suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him to a bench, where they sat. She looked at him and smiled, but did not let go of his hand.  
  
"You know, my father is the best martial artist I know." she began. "He once told me about a really mean sensei he had when he was younger. He was a really mean old man. He would steal things then make his students take the blame. He even made the students steal for him. If they complained, he'd beat them up. After a while, all new students would stop questioning the old master and went out of their way to make him happy. My father, though, never stopped and, for his trouble, he would get beaten five times a day.  
  
"This went on for several years during which my father fought with him constantly. Finally, one day, he barely managed to defeat the old man, which shocked everyone else. From that day on the sensei took my father as a true student. He never forced my father to do anything that he objected to. After mastering the style, my father asked about the master's change of attitude after that fight. He said:  
  
"'My boy, it's very simple. If you can't stand up for yourself, even in the face of a harsh response, you are not a true martial artist. Pain you can learn to handle, but without confidence and self-respect, you cannot possibly advance in this form or any other martial art.'  
  
"My father always remembered that. He always felt, during those first three years, that taking the pain constantly would make him tougher. One day, he would be able to stand it long enough to face the old man on better terms and maybe even beat him. And because he believed in himself enough, it payed off."  
  
"Well maybe, but..."  
  
"Look at it this way. You say it's been going on regularly for two years. That's almost as long as my father went through. Don't tell me you haven't noticed it's not as bad when it first started."  
  
Krillin thought about it for a minute. In truth, he had been finding the beatings less severe and his recovery time had greatly decreased. "No, it hasn't been as bad. But they haven't been catching me as easily lately either. I'm too fast."  
  
"Well, see there, you have an advantage already. You can do it!"  
  
"I dunno..."  
  
"I believe in you. Even my dad believes in you."  
  
"Wha...he does?" Krillin said, surprised. From what the girl had said, the man sounded quite the martial artist. "But I've never even met him."  
  
"That's true, but he doesn't have to meet you to believe in you. He's a good judge of people. Most of the time, when we visit martial arts schools, he's really bored by those displays, mostly because he just wants to see and learn the important stuff from the masters of the schools. But he watches them out of respect for the schools. He was very interested in your routine and kept mumbling about how the Orinji teachers weren't so worthless as he thought. He's usually not so nice when talking about martial arts instructors."  
  
Krillin blushed, half from embarrassment and half from pride. He still did not think his routine warranted such praise and figured that the girl was, most likely, trying to make him feel better. He very seldom received such kindness. There was no way he could say no to her. "Ok...I'll try to fight them back."  
  
"Promise me you will." she said in a pleading tone. "You have so much potential. I'd hate to see those bullies keep you from realizing it."  
  
"I promise." he replied, and meant it. He blushed, realizing he'd forgotten something. "Eh, you know, I forgot to introduce myself...my name is..."  
  
"Krillin. I couldn't forget your name after that kata. That was, um, kinda why I followed you all the way back here." she giggled, embarrassed. She absently pulled the hair hanging over her left eye back behind her ear, after which it promptly returned to it's former place. "My name's Kou."  
  
The two began conversing as if they were childhood friends. They soon lost track of time, a fact that did not become apparent until a large shadow fell over the couple.  
  
"Here you are." said a gruff voice. The two looked up at a tall, stern looking, orange-haired man wearing a white dogi with a black belt. Krillin recognized him as the man who had been looking bored after his routine. Seeing him up close, Krillin realized that his assessment of the man had not been wrong. He almost radiated an air of power and ability.   
  
"Oops!!! Dad, I..." Kou began.  
  
"...are extremely late. We're an hour behind our schedule now." he finished.  
  
"But Daddy, I just wanted to see Krillin after the demonstration!"  
  
"And it took that long to see him?"  
  
"But four bullies were beating him up and I helped him out. You're not mad are you?" she said, pouting and sounding every bit the daddy's girl. Krillin watched, amazed, as the tough-looking man's resolve crumbled.  
  
"Eh...of course not. But you should have kept in mind that we have a schedule to keep. I guess one hour won't hurt too much." he addressed Krillin. "Hello young man. My name is Houou. Nicely done staff kata. Very difficult, even for some of the so called 'warrior monks'. You've renewed a small bit of my respect for the Orinji."  
  
"Thank you sir." Krillin responded, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. He was somewhat surprised that Kou had been serious about what her father thought of him.  
  
"Now what's this about bullies?"  
  
Kou explained Krillin's situation. Houou looked as if he were restraining his anger. "I see. I suppose I understand the stance the Orinji are taking with the situation. They're forcing you to learn to deal with your own problems. I hope your current strategy has taught you something about how to do so."  
  
"I'm not sure I know what you mean." replied Krillin.  
  
"You can't run from your problems." said Houou. He sighed a bit before continuing. "Krillin, I hate bullies and what they stand for. Bullies are cowards, sorry excuses for people who run in packs and abuse the defenseless. There is no place in martial arts for them, but unfortunately there are always martial artists who are bullies. A true martial artist would be offended by the actions of a bully and would not allow them to bully others who cannot defend themselves. You are not defenseless so you don't need to run, but to fight. Bullies will only be bullies if you allow them to be.  
  
"It was nice meeting you. I hope you can fulfill your potential despite the decidedly lacking training of the Orinji. I would hope to see that if our paths should cross again." He looked to his daughter. "Come along, Kou."  
  
"Coming Dad..." Krillin and Kou stood, sharing an awkward silence. The short time they'd spent together had been very enjoyable and he hated to see it end. "I...I really liked talking to you. I usually only have Dad and Hou, my twin brother, to talk to."  
  
She leaned over and hugged him. "Make sure you keep that promise to me. Don't let those boys keep you from being the best you can. Good-bye, Krillin."  
  
"No, wait!" he exclaimed. She looked at him questioningly. "Uh...you shouldn't, you know, say good-bye. Who knows, we might, you know, meet again or something. How about we just say 'see you later'?"  
  
"Ok," she replied, smiling brightly. "See you later, Krillin."  
  
"See you later." he replied, smiling. She squeezed his hand one last time, then released his hand. She turned and ran after her father and waved back once before they disappeared around a corner. He looked after where she had just been, a vague sense of longing and loneliness creeping in. Even now he could still feel a tingling on his hand. She had been holding that hand since they'd sat down. Somehow, he knew that he had just met someone very special and he hoped that Kami would let him meet Kou someday again. He wanted very much to show her that he had fulfilled his promise.  
  
That thought also reminded him of Xander's promise. There was no doubt in his mind that the next encounter with the boy and his flunkies would be extremely painful, probably the worse yet. He did not exactly look forward to it, but it was coming, whether he chose to run or to fight. Houou was right, he was not defenseless and it was high time he started acting like it. Besides, Kou believed in him. Knowing that helped somewhat.  
  
He headed towards the dining area, certain that he had missed his training session. The trip there was a cautious one and not just because he wanted to avoid Xander. Missing training sessions without a good excuse (in other words, an injury) was severely punished. All the better to hold off on that till the next day. Krillin snuck by several people walking the halls, thankful he had learned to be silent after all the chases in which he had been involved. Finally, he reached the main corridor right in front of the dining hall. The way the halls were built, they all gradually converged till they became that main corridor. It had been designed that way, as Krillin remembered, as a defense mechanism. It siphoned a large group of people into one area, where they could be dispatched easily. He knew it all too well, in fact; it was very easy to get caught there. As a rule, he avoided it when being chased because the dining hall doors were locked until meal time, making it an ideal spot for a trap.  
  
The very same thought ran through his head as he stepped into the corridor. He pushed it aside however; it was meal time, so the doors would be open. As he approached, however, it was evident that they were not open. He stifled his anxiety and pulled on the handles of the huge doors, which gave a little but did not open. He shook them, hoping that they would somehow open. By now, his anxiety was becoming harder to ignore. He could not, for the life of him, understand why the doors were locked during meal time. Lunch was right after the training session and he surely could not have missed it, could he? Had he really been talking that long?  
  
"So the runt finally decides to show up." he heard a voice, a very familiar voice, behind him snarl. Fear rushed up from his gut but he slowly drove it back down. Slowly, he turned to face his tormentor. He was not surprised to see all four boys blocking any route of escape. A few hours ago he would have been as scared as a cornered animal but, this time, he did not plan to escape. He was ready to fight and, somehow, it just seemed right. In that moment, he realized that his only true instinct was to fight. Fleeing was for the weak and the defenseless.  
  
"I am not weak." he thought to himself. "I am not defenseless."  
  
The two sentences repeated over and over in his head, stirring something deep in his heart and soul. All fear and anxiety that dared to remain was overwhelmed by the flood of adrenaline and and something else that he could not define. It felt like a fire stoked by anger, hate, and bitterness, the same emotions that Xander and his cronies more than helped him develop. That fire burned in him, begging for release, for battle. He began muttering the mantra that began in his mind, his tone rising in concert with the fire in his soul, till he finally screamed it out.  
  
"I'M NOT WEAK!!! I'M NOT DEFENSLESS!!!"  
  
Xander stopped in mid-sentence, visibly shaken momentarily by the unusually forceful outburst. Krillin noticed the boy again and saw him glance uncertainly at his comrades.  
  
"Shut it up, runt. Or course you're weak, or haven't we beaten that into your head yet?" Xander said not quite as menacingly as before. "And as for interrupting me, I think we should continue with your humility lesson. And this time, you don't have your girlfriend to hide behind."  
  
Krillin laughed mirthlessly. "Don't worry about that. The only person hiding behind others around here is you."  
  
Xander fumed at the implication. "You just made this ten times worse, runt. You'd better run while you can." The others laughed and popped their knuckles in anticipation.  
  
"If you say so." Krillin replied, smiling. His smile grew larger as his feet carried him, faster than ever, straight towards Xander. He knew that Xander would try to prevent his escape by grabbing him and the others would close in to commence the beating. They would never consider that he might actually attack first. Surprise, Krillin knew, would give him a slight advantage for a short time. But he could not fool himself. This fight would only end when either they were incapacitated or he was incapacitated. That the latter was almost certain did not bother him at all, amazingly. In fact, he was strangely looking forward to it.  
  
Xander committed to lunging at him as he approached, for which Krillin rewarded him by landing a few flying stamp kicks to the chest. He used the final kick to propel himself backwards into one of the unsuspecting boys, whom he caught with a backfist. Landing, he immediately flipped backwards, just barely avoiding the strikes of the remaining two boys.  
  
"Damn it! Get him!" Xander yelled impotently. Cale swung his right hand recklessly at Krillin, who slapped the strike away with his left hand. With a quick spin, he moved in and viciously elbowed the bully in the still sore solar plexus. A movement in his peripheral vision just barely allowed him to duck a roundhouse kick from the other boy. The unfortunate Cale took the blow in the face as Krillin rolled away again. He noticed Xander had recovered and the second person he had hit (whose nose he had smashed in the earlier confrontation) was in position to attack. They both looked angry, to say the least.  
  
Krillin dared not stop for a moment. Surprise had quickly worn off and now he simply had to get to them before they got to him. He dashed forward and engaged the nearest person, aggressively attacking but never staying still long enough for the others to surround him. He traded blows with the boy before hopping backwards to avoid a string of punches from Xander. As he landed, a leg flashed out and swept his feet, forcing Krillin to roll backwards again. This time, two fists lanced out towards his head as he stood from the roll, both of which were just barely deflected by his arms. In that moment, his defenses were wide open, a situation on which the bullies were more than happy to capitalize.  
  
Krillin saw, almost in slow motion, Xander's foot rising towards his face but he could not seem to move his arms fast enough to stop it. Before he could even take a step backwards, he felt his a pain in the back of his legs that made them buckle under his weight. He spent the next few moments disconnected from the action, almost as a bystander looking on. As clearly as day he saw no less than five ways to counter the coming kick and, choosing one, he willed it to happen. Or rather, he tried to will it; Krillin's body did not move to respond to the command. The strange moment evaporated as the kick landed squarely on his chin, sending him flying backwards to land ten feet away.  
  
Pain coursed through his jaw and legs, but he leapt back to his feet anyway, ignoring it. He flipped backwards as quickly as possible to put space between himself and the attackers. They were moving to surround him again, which Krillin knew he would have to prevent to have even the slimmest chance to get out of the situation. He dashed towards Cale, the most injured of the group, and immediately realized the folly of that plan. The remaining three descended on him before he could react, raining blows down so quickly that blocking was useless. Soon, he had dropped to his knees, using his arms to shield his head and neck. They did not even seem to notice when he'd dropped into a fetal position, their desire to hurt allowing them to ignore the spatters of blood from wounds opened by their blows.  
  
For Krillin, the pain had climaxed to almost unbearable but something would not allow him to lose consciousness. For the second time that day, he felt disconnected, the intense pain from the beating decreasing to a dull ache. And, somewhere, a he heard a voice repeating something that he had to strain his ears to hear: "That which does not kill me makes me stronger." He felt certain that there was something he needed to figure out but the thought, and the experience, was cut short by Xander's voice.  
  
"God damned runt, look what you made us do." he said, snarling. He squatted so he could look Krillin in the face. "Don't you get it? You'll never be good enough or strong enough to beat us. You know why?"  
  
Krillin half coughed, half laughed before replying. "Cause I'm not a weak coward with pitiful fighting ability."  
  
Xander growled and punched Krillin across the face, adding 5 stars to the hundreds that were occupying his vision. "The only pitiful one here is you. You'll never beat us because you're nothing, an orphan, a nobody. We'd never let a low class runt like you disgrace us by being our equal. And you'll never be strong enough to do anything about it!"  
  
"That which does not kill me," Krillin began, pausing to spit in Xander's face, "makes me stronger."  
  
He did not know what possessed him to do such a thing, nor did he have time to contemplate the situation. Within the first few seconds of the ensuing beating, unconsciousness mercifully enveloped him.  
  
  
Author's Notes  
Character Name Meanings  
Houou – Japanese for phoenix  
Hou – Japanese for male phoenix  
Kou – Japanese for female phoenix  
And, no, these names were not arbitrarily chosen from dictionary. They have meaning which will be revealed eventually.  
  
Took a while to write this, as beginnings generally do for me. Two months kicking the idea around in my head, one month planning, one month writing, a week of proof- and pre-reading (factor in real life, other activities, and goofing off). It's sometimes difficult to get things off on the right foot.   
  
This story is an alternate retelling of the entire DB/Z/GT story arch, told from the perspective of Krillin. I'm a fan of Krillin, a character who I think was pushed to the side to make room for the over use of Saiyans in the series. Basically, Krillin will be tougher, more experienced, and more of a factor in this story. To be fair, I'm also covering his history prior to the Turtle Hermit training and changing his character somewhat to explain how he is more effective later in Z and GT. In this case, I think OOC might actually be preferable to canon :D The basic premise, however, is that a single event in the past can change the entire look of the series. We'll see how I run with that.  
  
I have not had the good fortune of reading the DB manga, but I'm basing the stories on what I've learned about them from summaries. Please bare with me if I have something wrong and let me know so I can correct it. Yes, I know that these names are the Funi style spellings, but I happen to like those, so sue me. In case you're wondering who Xander and Cale are, they're the two Orinji's Krillin and Goku meet at the first Budokai. Toriyama glossed over why Krillin was afraid of them, so I took some liberties with the backstory. I don't know what their names were (or if they even had names), sorry DB purists.  
  
Other stories: Prophecy is on hold till I finish rethinking and planning it, it just sucks too much right now. A new story is on the way within the next two weeks, I hope, and chapter two of this will hopefully be done in a few weeks. I need more pre-readers, so if you feel you can be severely critical of my work and provide some constructive feedback, throw me an email (mo_cain@hotmail.com or mrpanda@lycos.co.uk).  
  
Sorry for making you read this long notes section ~_~ 


	3. Krillin's Unbreakable Will

Disclaimer: Dragonball is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama and Toei and licensed to FUNImation. I had nothing to do with it's creation; if I had, you wouldn't be reading this. Anyway, all non-Toriyama characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so FUNI, if you're reading, please leave your lawyers to people who are actually infringing your copyrights for profit.  
  
And now, our feature presentation...  
  
Heart of a Warrior  
Chapter 2a – Krillin's Unbreakable Will  
  
Krillin's eyes opened suddenly as consciousness slammed into him. His head pounded with a dull headache and his body ached all over. He blinked his eyes to adjust them to the light, staring at the ceiling above him. It was a familiar ceiling, composed of knotted, rough-hewn wood planks, a ceiling he had seen quite often in the last few months. The ceiling in question was in the infirmary and Krillin concluded that, since he happened to be looking at it on return to consciousness, he had not faired well in a his last fight. Ignoring the pain in his head, he forced himself to remember what had happened.   
  
"Jumped...they jumped me. I...I lost again. Damn it, how can I keep my promise if I keep losing!!! I might as well give up." he thought bitterly. An image of Kou flashed in his mind and with it came a flood of memories and feelings. "No...I won't give up. I can do it...I can win! I'll prove it to everyone!"  
  
His spirit bolstered, Krillin yawned and stretched his sore body before slowly sitting up on the small (though not to him) cot. He scooted back and propped his small pillow up against the wall, then leaned back on the pillow.  
  
"Good morning Brothers." he said, smiling as he turned his head to look at the two monks sitting in lotus positions on the floor next to the cot. The one on the right was thin and tall with olive toned skin. The other looked to be of average height and build and had more Asiatic features. "How long was I out?"  
  
The two Brothers shook their heads negatively, concern clearly on their face. "Just a few hours this time, thankfully." the monk on the left, whose name was Kenjo, replied.  
  
"That's great! I'm getting pretty tough, don't you think?" Krillin responded, smiling. He flashed a thumbs-up.  
  
"Damn it Krillin, can't you be serious about this?" the other monk, Mikail, demanded, jumping up suddenly. "How long will you let this continue? If you'd just tell us who did this..."  
  
"You know I can't do that, Mikail." Krillin responded gently. "This is my fight. I'll solve the problem myself."  
  
"Krillin, be reasonable." Kenjo pleaded. "Look at you. You're in and out of the infirmary every week, your studies are slipping, you're missing chores. How can you insist on doing this alone when it's affecting your entire life here at the temple?"  
  
Krillin sighed, suddenly sounding very tired. "We talk about this every time you guys come here to see me after I get beat up. I know you guys are worried, but I can't deal with this by snitching on the ones who beat me up."  
  
"And why not? If you do that they'll be expelled from the temple." Kenjo replied. "Why are you trying to protect them?"  
  
"Protect them? Why would I do that?" Krillin snorted. "I want to prove to them and to everyone that I can handle my own problems. If I do what you say, I'll be a failure and they'll win."  
  
"How is that?" Mikail said. "They'd never set foot in this temple again and never harass anybody again. How is that winning?"  
  
Krillin shook his head as if disappointed. "It's not that simple. I thought, of all people, you two "warrior monks" would understand..." He trailed off, seeing his words had hurt his guardians. Sighing, he began again. "I'm sorry. You guys don't deserve that, especially since you're only worried about me. But gotta understand. It doesn't matter to me if they're gone and the beatings end. I'm training to be a martial artist. I've been learning to deal with extreme pain for the last few years. You guys don't see that this ain't about them trying to hurt my body.  
  
"They want to break my spirit and destroy my pride in myself. They think that if they do that they'll feel better about themselves. Every time they put me in here, they think they've somehow proven that they're better. And that I'm that much closer to giving up.  
  
"But it's not the same for me, not now at least. For me, every fight teaches me more and gives me confidence. Every time they knock me down I come back stronger than before. Haven't you noticed that?"  
  
Kenjo and Mikail nodded. "Krillin, you've changed so much these last months." Kenjo said softly. "We can't understand this attitude of yours because we don't understand you anymore. If you'd just help us understand..."  
  
Krillin looked at his guardians, the only parents he had ever known. He suddenly saw himself as they most likely saw him, a young boy, like a son to them, stubbornly facing a big problem and refusing help. He knew how he would have felt and realized that he had been unfair to them. They, above all others, deserved an explanation. "You're right, as usual." he replied solemnly. "I'll tell you everything except their names. And you guys don't overreact. Deal?"  
  
The two men looked at each other, silently conferring, before nodding their agreement. Mikail returned to his lotus position on the floor next to Kenjo.  
  
"This all began about six months ago. Well, at least the important stuff did. Ever since I was young, I've been an outcast among the students here. I've been picked on for as long as I can remember. The only thing that kept me from being depressed all the time was knowing that I had a chance to be in the martial arts program. I imagined that, if I could pass the tests to get into the program, things would change, that I would be accepted. So I worked and trained as hard as I could for three years to get in but, when I finally made it when I was nine, I was still an outcast. And I only got picked on worse. I was tormented daily by a group of students that hated me for my natural talent and because I could learn quickly. I guess they couldn't get over that I was younger and that I look different. They chased me and beat me up constantly starting the day I began martial arts training. For a while I thought that, if I trained hard enough to prove that I belonged in the training program, they would accept me. I was wrong again; the more I improved, the worse it got.  
  
"You remember that time, almost two years ago, when I got beat up and had to stay here for two weeks? That was not too long after I figured out that I couldn't do anything to change their minds. I was angry at the time and decided to fight the whole pack. It was the first time I ever fought back and they made me pay for it. It hurt a lot, but it scared me more than anything else.  
  
"After that, I was too scared to fight back anymore. I just ran. I guess it wasn't all bad because all that running was good training. I became really fast and agile. I got tougher and my defense got stronger. But my confidence was low. That's why I was always training so hard and so much. That's why I was so down on myself. Every time I achieved something, they came to beat the pride out of me. That's the way things were for me until six months ago. Then I met someone who changed my life.  
  
"That was the day of one of our demonstrations, that time that I was chosen to do the final demonstration. They didn't like it and, right after we were dismissed, they chased me and started to beat me up. Then, out of nowhere, a blonde girl, who looked about my age, came and told them to stop. She threatened to report them and they ran off, leaving us alone.  
  
"Her name was Kou. She'd followed me because she had liked my kata. She was pretty and really nice and cheerful, and pretty good at martial arts too. And she was actually interested in me!" Krillin paused, his blushing face betraying his feelings as he rubbed the back of his bald head. "I've been an outcast since I've been here but she wasn't treating me like that at all. It was like...I don't know, like I was meant to meet this special person."  
  
"Anyway, we sat down and I told her about my situation. She was pretty upset about it. But she was more upset that I wasn't fighting back. She told me that enduring pain and learning to deal with it would make me stronger so that eventually it wouldn't matter. Then, she said, I would be able to beat them. I was skeptical until I met her father.  
  
"I'm not sure if you met him. I think he had visited before because he seemed to know the Master. He was a martial artist with orange hair." Krillin paused, noticing the brief exchange of glances between Kenjo and Mikail before they both nodded at him. "This man, whose name was Houou, was pretty good in my opinion, even though I'd only just met him. From what Kou had said about him, he didn't really think much of Orinji or the people who were trained here. But he hadn't thought that way about me. He said I had potential, that I had restored some of his faith in Orinji. I think that he and Kou, having confidence in me even when I had none and believed no one else had any in me either, is a major part of why I've changed."  
  
"But Krillin, we've always believed in you." Mikail interjected, sounding a bit hurt. "We've known since you were an infant that you were special and we've always tried to show it. What, was it not enough?"  
  
"No, no, that's not it at all. Kenjo, Mikail, you're my parents. I always know I'll have your confidence and support, no matter what. But to have those things from others who have no reason to give them meant something to me that I didn't think of.: that if others besides you guys believed in me, then maybe I should believe in me too.  
  
"Anyway, Houou told me what I needed to hear. He told me to stand up for myself, to fight the bullies. That it was my responsibility as a martial artist to fight people who attack the weak and defenseless. That I'm not defenseless. The funny thing is that I'd more or less told myself these same things so many times before. I knew what I needed to do before they said anything. It just took something to shake me out of my fear.  
  
"They had followed me after Kou left and cornered me. So I fought back. That fight made me see that I was committed to this path. Even in that fight, in the middle of getting beaten up, I knew that fighting, not running, was what I was meant to do. Hell, I might even say that I needed to fight. It just felt right.  
  
"I woke up a week after that fight in here. They didn't let me out of the infirmary for another day, so I had that time to think about what I was going to do. Realistically I knew that, with my training schedule at the time, it would take a long time, even at my quick learning speed, to become good enough to defeat the bullies. I decided to devote all the free time I had to training. Because our total daily free time is an hour, I also figured out ways to train while doing my chores and other daily activities. I still do that now, even though the other Brothers think I'm goofing off. I also became the most active person in all regular training, I hounded the instructors for extra practice before and after classes, and I spent hours in the library reading the scrolls and manuals of the Orinji style. I was determined to do the impossible: to learn enough of the Orinji style to defeat a group of students who were all two or more levels above me in a few months. I knew I could pick up things faster than others. Why wouldn't I be able to do that?  
  
Krillin chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "I dunno, I guess that was just wishful thinking. Or maybe I was just dumb. Anyway, the answer to that question came a month later. All that month I had been fighting the bullies two or three times a day. I spent more than a few times in the infirmary. But I was learning so much and now and then I could make a bit of headway in the fights. I can see now that I never stood a chance in those fights. I guess If I knew then what I know now, I probably woulda quit. I kept trying to figure out why (never thinking that maybe I just needed more time) until I convinced myself that I was losing because I needed a weapon. The best choice for me was, of course, a staff. I'm probably nearly as good as any Brother in the temple with one, honestly. I took one from the weapon room and waited for them that day. It was the first and last time I attacked them.  
  
"I did better but just barely. I guess I never thought that they might know how to fight against a person with a weapon. And I was still only one person against a group." Krillin sighed, his eyes distant as he continued. "I never really had a chance, even with my skills. They were bigger and stronger. They'd fought more. After taking some solid hits from me, they just surrounded me, eventually taking the staff when I got tired, then beat me up. That was a real blow to my pride, to be beaten even with the staff, which I had spent so many hours practicing with. I was almost ready to give up again. But I calmed down after I had limped to my room and spent the rest of the day there, thinking about what had happened. Instead of crying about it, I decided to learn from it.  
  
"The staff was my crutch, it was pretty obvious. If I wasn't good enough, the staff wouldn't make much more of a difference. Only later, when studying the scrolls more, did I read the lessons concerning weapons: "The sword is only as good as the hand that wields it." I knew I could not rely on a weapon to win this fight. But what could I do? I was already using every spare moment to train myself but the gains I made were too small to me. I just didn't have the patience to wait years before I eventually won."  
  
"Impatience was always one of your biggest weaknesses, Krillin." Kenjo said. "You always want things now. But you can't become a martial arts master overnight. It takes years of training."  
  
Krillin looked at Kenjo, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? But I didn't care about whether it was possible. And I wasn't thinking much about it either. I only wanted to win. I didn't even consider that these same people had just been promoted and were, collectively, as experienced as some of the Brothers. It just did not matter to me. I would have done anything to win. In a way, I did.  
  
"To me, the answer was to train more, train harder, and learn as much as I could to give myself an advantage. I knew the lessons as well, if not better, than the instructors. Instead of doing my chores, I snuck off and watched the higher level classes and even spied on the Brothers when they practiced, teaching myself by the example. I checked out as many scrolls as I could from the library and read them in our non-martial arts classes instead of paying attention. And I fought. I always fought. I sparred as often as I could with the Brothers who would take me seriously. I learned so much from those sessions because they realized that I was serious about learning.   
  
"I fought four or five times a day with the bullies. I started most of the encounters, I admit, but I had a plan behind it. I always learned something from these fights. I learned their weakness, their habits, their favorite moves. My photographic memory and quick learning, I soon understood, were my advantages. They adjusted their style sluggishly while I sometimes could change in the middle of a fight. All of this had an impact on getting me to my goal as quickly as possible. But it still wasn't fast enough for me. I had to take more drastic measures."  
  
Krillin paused, as if unsure how, or whether, to continue. He sighed loudly before beginning again. "Ok, I told you I would tell you everything, but you have to promise me that you won't over-react to what I'm about to say. Ok?" He waited for their reluctant nods, then continued.  
  
"About three months ago I decided that, even with all I was doing, I would not improve as fast as I needed to. There just wasn't enough time in the day. I had been thinking that all along, really, but now I had to do something about it. It became clear to me that I would have to train after hours. But trying to do that seemed impossible because the Brothers make regular rounds at night and the last thing I wanted was to be in more trouble than normal. So I snuck out of the monastery one night..."  
  
"YOU DID WHAT?!!!" the two Brothers exclaimed in unison.  
  
"But..." Krillin began, but was interrupted.  
  
"But nothing! Krillin, you are forbidden from leaving the monastery without supervision!" Mikail said.   
  
"Why are you putting your life here at the temple in jeopardy like that?" Kenjo added. "It's not like you don't have it hard enough now, but if the others found out..."  
  
"I know, I know, I'll be expelled. You don't have to remind me of that when I've reminded myself thousands of times." Krillin said, his voice slightly tinged with anger. "And you both promised to not overreact. I wish you would keep your promise."  
  
Chastised, the Brothers fell silent. Satisfied they would not interrupt again, Krillin continued. "Like I was saying, I snuck out one night and ran into the woods. Fortunately the moon was out and, for some reason, I wasn't afraid of the dark or whatever animals were in the woods. I only wanted to train and was searching for a place in the woods to do that. I don't remember how long I ran through the forest, but I eventually found a good sized clearing where a big tree had fallen. It was propped up by two smaller trees that were almost crushed by it. The most of the rest of the trees were widely spaced, though the few were in the clearing were pretty small. I saw that there was a circle of stones that had probably been used for a fire as well as a few logs to sit on. I figured people probably used the place but, since I hadn't found an better place, I would use it for myself. Lucky for me no one ever came around when I used it to train. It really was a great place. I had plenty of room to do forms, plenty of heavy objects to lift, and plenty of obstacles to help my agility. And it was far enough down the mountain so that I could be as loud as I wanted without having to worry about waking anyone in the temple.  
  
"From that point on I went to the place every night at midnight and practiced till near dawn. I would then sneak back into the monastery and join the students that were going to the dining hall to start the day. I slept during all the non-training classes (when I had no scrolls to read) and sometimes the training classes. I knew that I was already far more advanced than my classmates and so did the instructors. If they wouldn't or couldn't spar with me, I didn't bother with the class. If I was tired enough, I even slept during chores. Of course you both know about how much trouble I had been getting into before for skipping chores, but it was worse after I began my nightly training. I didn't care though. The training was starting to pay off. I was getting much better.  
  
"Two months ago things began to change. I had, in my opinion, worked my way up to the the next to last level of training. I had longer fights and I began to give as well as I took. Every time I lost I would think about the fight, learn what I was doing wrong, and talk to a Brother for advice. At night, I would take the advice and practice it. Yes, I still did end up in the infirmary like I did today, but I saw that I was staying for shorter times. The pain of getting beaten up was slowly becoming more bearable. Several times I was close to winning before they recovered and put me down. These things made me see that I was getting closer to my goal. I finally felt that I actually could win!  
  
"It's funny, really. Those times I had victory snatched from me, I was so mad I almost cried. And for a couple weeks I couldn't seem to improve at all. I couldn't understand how I could be so good, even nearly the equal of the bullies, but I could not become good enough to win. My mood even affected my life here in the monastery. I mean, I didn't really want to hurt my two classmates, but I was so focused on my problem that I didn't hold back during sparring like normal. I realized, after seeing what I had done to them, that I had to stop getting so worked up over the problem. So when I got two whole days of kitchen duty as punishment, I didn't even argue. I needed the time to think.  
  
"For those two days I thought about everything. By then I had improved so much, I would've been considered a top level student. Technically, I should have been able to beat the bullies, but I never did. Why was that? I asked myself that question over and over. I remembered all that I could of the many fights we'd had. I tried to remember everything I had read of the Orinji style from the scrolls and everything any Brother had ever taught me. None of it helped and I became depressed. So I snuck away from the kitchen and went to spy on the Brothers as they practiced.   
  
"Luck, or fate, or Kami himself led me to your practice that evening. I saw a familiar situation, one person versus a group, unarmed. And I watched, amazed, as you, Kenjo, defended yourself with skill. Kami has a sense of humor, I guess. All those months I had been training and all that time I had never asked how to fight multiple opponents, while someone who would have willingly taught me was my own parent.  
  
"I remembered all that I saw and, the next day, I asked you to tell me all you knew about fighting multiple opponents. Mikail also joined in and, between the two of you, I learned what I needed to know. It was so different from what I knew, but so similar and so obviously right. My first fight after that was almost totally different. I knew it, the bullies knew it. I finally knew something they did not know and I could tell, like I think they could, that it was only a matter of time before I won.  
  
"It wasn't easy. I had to adapt my style to what you taught me, but since they were nice enough to give me plenty of practice, I did it. Each fight made them more angry and made me better. In a week and a half, I felt I was ready. I wasn't scared of pain anymore. More importantly, I wasn't scared of how they could harm me. My confidence was higher than ever. I decided that today would be the day I would end it all. And that is where we are now."  
  
The two monks looked at him for a few moments, questions obviously churning in their head, before Kenjo spoke. "Wait...what do you mean 'where we are now'? You're in the infirmary. Did you somehow win the fight before passing out?"  
  
Krillin almost laughed. "Oh, that. No, I lost the fight. They did something unexpected, like they always do every now and then. They fought me with staffs and I didn't change quickly enough, so they won. It was just a trick though. The problem with tricks is that they only work once or twice. But they're dumb. They probably think they have an upper hand now. Next time we fight, they'll use the staffs again. They're gonna wish they hadn't." Krillin said, smiling wickedly.  
  
"Krillin, please don't continue this." Kenjo pleaded. "You've made your point to them, isn't that obvious? They're attacking you with staffs now, what's to say they won't use swords or spears? What then?"  
  
"Nope, can't stop what I've started. I vowed to Kou that I would fight them. I vowed on my honor as a martial artist and to Kami himself that I would beat them. I vowed to myself that I would make them suffer for what they've made me suffer."  
  
"Krillin, listen to yourself! You want revenge! That's now what the Orinji order is about!" Kenjo said. "You're not defending yourself anymore. You're not on the side of right if you continue this. If you continue this, you'll be no better than them."  
  
Krillin shot an angry glare at Kenjo. "Don't you dare say that to me. I've been taking shit from them from the beginning and everyone here but you guys have ignored it. If anyone really cared, they could have easily found out who these bullies are. But nooooo, it's suddenly my fault that they keep doing it. Don't you remember that *I'm* the victim?"  
  
"But..." Kenjo began.  
  
"No, you let me finish." Krillin cut him off angrily. "It's not my fault that the Brothers let them get away with it. If I was one of the kids that paid to train here instead of an orphan, it probably would've been solved a long time ago. Everyone looks at me and the other orphans here like we're nothing. And now I finally I train myself to beat these guys, to show everyone that I'm something, to show everyone that we orphans deserve respect too, and you tell me to back off? I can't. I won't. They deserve what they're gonna get."  
  
"Mikail, say something to him, please!" Kenjo said, turning to Mikail. Mikail looked away.  
  
"I...I can't. I know the consequences and you know the consequences, and we can tell him all we want, but he will only learn on his own." He said finally. "And, to some degree, I think he is right. We have to let him do what he thinks is right."  
  
Krillin watched the exchange as he got up from his cot, stretching his sore body.   
  
"Krillin, please...don't" Kenjo pleaded. Krillin touched Kenjo's shoulder and smiled at the man.   
  
"Please, don't worry about me. I've thought this through and I have a plan that will set all of this straight. Just trust me." Before the men could reply or get up, Krillin had already run out of the infirmary.  
  
-  
  
Author's Notes  
Heh, this was supposed to be one chapter, but it was long and this was a logical stopping point. Check the end of Chapter 2b for more notes. 


	4. The End Is the Beginning

Disclaimer: Dragonball is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama and Toei and licensed to FUNImation. I had nothing to do with it's creation; if I had, you wouldn't be reading this. Anyway, all non-Toriyama characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so FUNI, if you're reading, please leave your lawyers to people who are actually infringing your copyrights for profit.  
  
And now, our feature presentation...  
  
Heart of a Warrior  
Chapter 2b – The End Is The Beginning  
  
The last of the students trickled out of the dining hall after dinner, heading off to their evening chores, classes, or free time. The students of the Orinji temple had been abuzz most of the day. They had heard from a senior student that worked in the infirmary that Krillin been carried there after another of his beatings. This in itself was hardly news for the students, as Krillin had spent nearly as much time in that building as he had in his own dormitory over the past six months. No, the real surprise was that, a little more than three hours after having been carried there by two Brothers (whom incidentally happened to be his guardians, Brothers Kenjo and Mikail), he had abruptly risen and left the infirmary. Since then, his whereabouts had remained unknown, though the students did not doubt that he was still lurking around nearby.  
  
This revelation was exciting at the very least because, unlike the Brothers, the whole student body knew the culprits behind Krillin's physical abuse. However, they observed a "code of silence" that most children the world round do concerning similar matters and were, honestly, just glad that he received the brunt of the bullies' wrath for everyone. Many had witnessed the fights between Krillin and Xander's gang and all of them had seen the progress made by Krillin over the six months. It was obvious to them that he was very close to winning a fight. His quick turn-around after a seemingly savage beating was proof enough for them all. Krillin, they were sure, would win very, very soon.  
  
The same thoughts were entering the minds of Xander's flunkies. The three boys walked together out of the dining hall, whispering to one another and glancing around nervously. Their leader walked a few paces behind them, his brow furrowed and a look of concern etched on his face. They moved slowly down the hall towards the dormitories, huddled in their moving conference.  
  
"Hey," Xander said, suddenly, "What're you guys talkin' about up there?"  
  
"N-nothin' Xander." Cale stammered. "Forget about it."  
  
Xander smacked the boy on the back of his head. "Shut your lying. You three are up here talkin' like some scared little girls. And about that runt, no less!"  
  
"Keep your voice down!" one of the boys, Liang, hissed. "He got out the infirmary three hours after we beat him down! Doesn't that make you kinda nervous?"  
  
Xander snorted, as if even considering such a thing was absurd. "Why should I be? That little weak nothing can't do anything to us."  
  
"Xander, it was four on one! And we had weapons!" the other boy, Gen, said pointedly. "We gotta face the facts. He ain't a pushover anymore."  
  
"Grrr...all of you just shut up!" Xander said, almost shouting. "What're you trying to say?You think he's somehow better than us? We're top students and he's nothing! You still think he can beat us by himself? If you're scared just say it!"  
  
He glared at the three, almost daring them to utter a word. "You guys are pathetic. He's just a weak little runt that nobody cares about. So what if he got back up! We just gotta hit harder!"  
  
A chuckle began a short distance down the hall. They stopped in their tracks, listening to it grow into full out laughter. The four boys looked away from each other to the source of the laughter. There, fifteen feet from where they had stopped, Krillin stood leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest, looking at the floor and producing a hollow laugh. Next to him against the wall leaned four staves.  
  
He cut the laugh short and pushed himself away from the wall, turning to face them. He flashed a confident, almost arrogant smirk as he heard the four gasp incredulously. The light showed what should have been impossible; Krillin did not have so much as a bruise on his body.  
  
"Hit harder, Xander?" he said, sarcastically. He smirked confidently at them as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Try learning to hit hard, period."  
  
"Oh, you finally decided to show your face, runt? Guess one ass kickin' wasn't enough for one day ." said Xander, a look of contempt and hate on his face. He popped his knuckles menacingly "I can't wait to put you back in the infirmary."  
  
Krillin laughed mirthlessly. "You'll be waiting a while then." he replied. His eyes narrowed and the smirk disappeared from his face. He grabbed the four staves from the wall and threw them at their feet. "Time for some fun, guys. Let's try this again, if you got the guts. You guys beat me earlier with those, maybe you can do it again. I'm betting you won't, though. I don't fall for the same thing twice."  
  
He cast a hard, dangerous stare over the group, daring them to move. Only Xander moved to pick up a staff, never taking his eyes off the diminutive figure before him. He gripped the staff till his knuckles were white. Krillin looked at his comrades, disgust apparent on his face.  
  
"What, you afraid? All of a sudden you don't want to fight." Krillin said, voice dripping contempt. "Come fight me, cowards. Pick up a staff and come fight me!"  
  
Xander tore his eyes away from the target of his hatred and stared at them as well, his gaze matching the contempt of Krillin's voice. Cale, Liang, and Gen seemed to wilt under their collective gaze. "Pick up a staff, you pussies." he hissed at them. "We can beat him together!"  
  
"Yeah, do what your 'fearless leader' says or I'll get you all kicked out of Orinji." Krillin said, bluffing. "I haven't said a word all this time about who was beating me up. You guys have been doing it so much that any person I named would be kicked out in a snap."  
  
The three looked at one another and, realizing they had no choice, reluctantly retrieved a staff from the floor. Krillin smiled at them predatorily as they moved to surround him. He stood calmly in the center of them, his arms folded across his chest as if he did not feel threatened enough to even take a stance. Without warning, the four flew at him.  
  
At that same instant, Krillin felt suddenly disconnected. It was a familiar feeling to him, by this time, unlike that first experience six months prior. Over that time span he had had flashes of the same feeling, one time even having it for a quarter of a fight. As always, time seemed to slow down and his mind to speed up. Before him lay twenty alternative reactions to the assault. He dismissed half immediately because they were too violent, too slow, or too uninteresting. Six more he disregarded because they would leave him open to attack, off-balance, or out of his ideal attack range. Finally he chose one of the remaining four options, one which would allow him to disarm an opponent as quickly as possible. In real time, a total of seven milliseconds had passed.  
  
Krillin turned to his left and stepped forward with his right foot, shooting his left hand upwards and his balled right hand forwards. The fist connected solidly with Gen's solar plexus just as Krillin's hand grabbed hold of his swiftly descending staff. Gen lost his grip immediately and flew backwards five feet from the impact. Krillin quickly turned around to his left and stepped forward on his left foot, simultaneously slashing at Xander with his newly acquired weapon, front-kicking Cale in the gut with his right foot and causing the boy to drop his weapon, and catching Liang's descending staff in his right hand. Without dropping his right leg, he side-kicked Liang's entirely unprotected midsection, forcing the boy to release his weapon and propelling the him backwards more than ten feet. Finally, he parried a blow directed at his head by Xander with the staff in his left hand and whacked the boy solidly on his forearm just above the wrist with the other staff. Xander dropped his weapon and fell to one knee, clutching his hand in agony.  
  
Krillin looked around at the still recovering bullies and laughed. "Told ya. Never works twice." he said, retrieving the other two staves. He leaned them up against the wall and walked back towards the now mostly recovered boys.  
  
"Alright, we did what you wanted Krillin." Gen said. "It's over."  
  
"I don't think so. That was just the warm up." Krillin replied, his smile not unlike that of a shark. Xander made a move to lunge at him but was restrained by the other three.  
  
"Stop it, Xander! He just beat us bare handed while we had weapons!" Cale exclaimed. "Don't you see we can't beat him?"  
  
"SHUT UP! Shut up you fat coward." He yelled, struggling from their grip. "Go ahead and run, you punks!"  
  
They glared at him before turning back to Krillin. "OK, you win Krillin. We won't bother you again. Let's just have a truce." Gen said, his voice wavering slightly.  
  
Krillin looked at them scornfully. "I don't deal with honorless bastards like you. And I never wanted a stupid truce anyway. I want to beat you in a fight, just like you've all beaten me for years." he said coldly. He raised his hand and waved them forward. "Come on."  
  
"We won't fight you anymore Krillin. You can't make us." Liang said defiantly. "I'm leaving."  
  
The boy turned and began walking away. Xander, Cale, and Gen watched, astonished, as Krillin quickly overtook the boy and elbowed him savagely in the solar plexus. He dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath.  
  
"You think I'm bluffing." he said quietly, looking down at the struggling boy. "Try to weasel out of this, any of you, and I'll get you kicked out. And before that I'll beat you up, one by one, in front of all the other students. You know I can do it too. Your only chance to beat me is fighting me together."  
  
Krillin helped the boy up, then shoved him in the direction of his cohorts. He folded his arms on his chest and looked at them, an arrogant smirk plainly visible on his visage. "Come on already. You trying to bore me to death?"  
  
Haphazardly, the four boys descended on Krillin. He jumped straight up in the air and lashed out with his right foot, catching Gen square on the jaw and sending the boy flying. Twisting his body in mid-air, he turned to his right and landed a right hook through Cale's defenses, catching him in the face. Dropping to a crouch on the ground, Krillin swept Liang's feet with a front foot sweep, then turned to the left and balanced himself on his left arm, pushing off slightly to give momentum to the two stamp kicks he aimed upward at Xander's gut. Xander blocked the first but was knocked back a few feet by the second.  
  
"Good. That wasn't too bad. Now try fighting me for real...with your real skills." he said as he stood up.  
  
The bullies nodded at one another, then smiled knowingly. "Runt, you want our real skills, you got it!" Xander sneered.  
  
Xander dropped into a forward stance, his palms flat and facing the ground, fingers facing forward, arms up in a ready position. Gen assumed a similar stance except his hands were bent down so that Krillin could see the back of his hands. Liang also stood in a similar stance but his fingers were spread like claws. Cale assumed a normal looking forward stance. Krillin looked to be genuinely surprised. "Surprised? We've been easy on you up till now." Xander said confidently. "Now you get to see our real styles!"  
  
"Surprised by your 'real' styles?" Krillin said, mockingly. "Nah, I'm just surprised that Brother Coto even bothered to teach you guys the animal styles. You barely know enough of those forms to defend yourself."  
  
"What the hell do you know, runt?!!" Cale said angrily. "We'll make you eat those words."  
  
"Well I wish you'd hurry up and try instead of talking about it." Krillin retorted, waving them forward again.  
  
Xander rushed out ahead of his cohorts and struck at Krillin with his right hand. Krillin sidestepped to the left then spun around and elbowed him hard in the back. Gen, following in closely to intercept Krillin, kicked at him with his left foot. Krillin narrowly avoided the blow by stepping diagonally forward and left to get inside Gen's defenses. Almost simultaneously he lifted his right arm to block Gen's incoming punch and sent a hard punch into Gen's chest with his left hand. He then quickly spun to the right and, with his hand hooked similar to the way Gen's had been, he brought his arm down to intercept a slashing blow from Liang. Krillin's momentum pulled the taller boy along right into the path of a charging Cale, who could not stop before crashing headlong into Liang.  
  
Xander, at this point, had recovered and re-entered the fight. He threw a flurry of spear-like strikes at Krillin, who deftly blocked each. Behind him, Cale and Liang moved in while Gen approached from his left side. Krillin stopped blocking, taking the initiative by performing similar style strikes, only ten times faster and harder. As the blows found their mark, Cale and Liang jumped at him. Krillin rolled backwards between the two bullies, striking them with open fists on their backs after he quickly returned to his feet. He followed the blows up with two kicks to the backs of their knees and punches to the backs of their necks, rendering the two effectively unconscious.  
  
"Two down, two to go. I guess I forgot to mention that I already know the Tiger, Snake, and Praying Mantis styles. You guys suck at them. In fact, you just suck, period." He said, glaring at Gen and Xander. He then kicked Cale and Liang a few times angrily. "You guys are disappointing me. Why don't you give me a real fight?"  
  
He gave them no chance to reply. Moving too fast for the bullies to react, he covered the distance between himself and Gen and began pummeling the boy. Gen struggled, in vain, to stop the barrage of kicks and punches, but Krillin's onslaught was too fast. He fell to the ground bruised and battered just as Xander began attacking Krillin. Instead of blocking, Krillin simply dodged the older boy's attacks while taunting him.  
  
"God, you suck. How did you even make it to the upper level?" Krillin said, ducking a wild swing at his head. "Slow...you couldn't touch me unless I let you." He sidestepped a snap kick. "Not so hot without your boys, huh?"  
  
Xander growled in frustration. "Shut up, damn it! Stay still!"  
  
Krillin only laughed in response as he bent backwards to avoid a side kick to his head. "Not so fun anymore, huh? Now you know what it's like..." he said, letting an errant fist fly just past his face. "This is only a little bit of what you all put me through." He suddenly stood still and caught Xander's fists in his hand, crushing them in his grip.  
  
"It was you who started this. I used to wonder why. Now," he said, hate etched on his face, "I don't even care." He lashed out with his right foot, kicking Xander in the solar plexus. The boy dropped to one knee, his hands still bound in Krillin's vice like grip. Krillin kicked again, hitting the boy in the face. Blood began to run from Xander's newly broken nose. Krillin let go of the hands and backhanded Xander, sending the bully sprawling.   
  
Krillin fought the urge to pummel the boy senseless. The moment had come when he finally had power over Xander, his hated tormentor, but as much as he wanted to hurt the boy, he knew that he still needed him to remain relatively unscathed after this fight. Instead, he walked behind the recovering Xander and struck him on the back of his neck, sending the boy into unconsciousness. Behind him, he could hear the groans of Cale and Liang regaining consciousness, which made him smile. He could not beat up on Xander, but those two were another story. Popping his knuckles, he made his way over to them, that same predatory smile on his face.  
  
-  
  
The next day the monastery was abuzz with gossip. Xander had apparently staggered into the infirmary with Gen, who, it was estimated, would require more than a week to recover from his injuries. Shortly thereafter Liang and Cale were also brought in looking more or less to be in the same shape as Gen. To the consternation of the Brothers, none of the boys would say anything regarding who had attacked them, leading them to speculate wildly about what might have befallen the four. Some believed that the same unknown assailant that had attacked Krillin was responsible for these attacks and would be potentially dangerous to everyone. Others suspected group rivalries amongst the students were the cause. And two monks knew who had perpetrated the attacks but were keeping that knowledge to themselves.  
  
The students, on the other hand, were not speculating who so much as how. The only person among them that had ever fought Xander's crew was Krillin and they knew he was close to beating them. The severity of the beatings, however, gave them pause. How, they wondered, could he have possibly inflicted such injuries on three people at once. And why, of all people, did he avoid seriously hurting Xander? After all, Xander was the ring leader of the four and hated Krillin with a passion. It stood to reason that Krillin would want to hurt him more than anyone else. There was speculation that Xander had run away, leaving his comrades to take the fall, but none of it was loud enough to incite the obviously agitated boy. Xander had spent the whole day looking angry and frustrated.  
  
Meanwhile, Krillin had been missing for more than a day. That, coupled with the attacks on the bullies, had convinced the Brothers to have an assembly that evening after dinner to "reassure" the students. In other words, they intended to wring some answers out of the students.  
  
The day passed quickly and, finally, dinner was over. The students filed out of the dining hall and walked through the labyrinthine corridors to the main assembly hall. They lined up according to their ranking, highest at the front. The Brothers lined up directly in front of them. They stood at rest, legs at shoulder width and hands clasped behind their backs, silently waiting for the arrival of the Master. After five minutes, the Master arrived, trailed by his advisors, Brothers Toco and Coto. The three walked to the front of the assembly and bowed. The students and Brothers bowed in return before all sitting down on the floor. Toco and Coto also sat, but the Master remained standing.  
  
The Master was an old, short man draped in dark orange robes with yellow trim and designs and sleeves so long they hardly let his hands show. He had a long white beard and white mustache but his head was bald like everyone else's. "Good evening, students. I hope you all know why we're here but, if not, I will explain. Yesterday, several of your fellow students were attacked. They are expected to be in the infirmary for the next week. Another of your fellow students has constantly been in and out of the infirmary as a result of similar attacks. We have gathered you all here today to get to the bottom of this problem.  
  
"We have been letting you all govern yourselves, so to speak, hoping that you would have the sense to come forward to stop the attacks. But now we see that you all are not ready for that responsibility. We will not have that kind of violence here at the Orinji monastery. We know that some among you know who the culprits are behind these attacks and we intend to find out. And we are not leaving this building until someone comes forward."  
  
He paused and began walking around the assembled students. Everyone was absolutely silent and looked straight ahead, not daring to call attention to themselves by looking at him. Finally, he stopped directly in front of Xander, looking down at the boy's face. Xander grit his teeth, his left eye twitched, and his knuckles clenched till they were white, but otherwise he kept his eyes off the Master.  
  
"I see...so this is the way you all want to be." the Master said. "Very well. You will all stand in the Crane position until further notice. Do it now!"  
  
The students jumped to their feet, groaning inwardly but complying. The last thing they wanted to do was make this process worse than it was going already.  
  
-  
  
Krillin peered through the crack between the two doors leading into the main assembly hall. Inside, he could see the Orinji students trying (and failing, in many cases) to maintain a Crane position. They obviously had been doing that for a while. Krillin almost laughed out loud at the scene. He was not particularly sorry that they were being forced to stand that way. None of them were his friends, none had ever tried to help him with his problems, not even his fellow orphans. They were all just happy to see him be the target of Xander and his crew instead of themselves. Seeing them suffer some on his behalf, especially when they could easily end it by snitching, was funny to him and he enjoyed watching. In fact, he might have stayed watching longer if he did not have something he needed to do.  
  
"All right Krillin, you can do this." he said to himself. "Just be confident. You just need to convince the Master, then everything will work out perfectly."  
  
Krillin sighed, then pulled the doors open wide and stepped into the assembly hall. All eyes in the room turned to him. They looked on him with a mix of curiousity and astonishment. All, that is, except for one person, whose face was a mask of hatred and anger. Krillin looked right at Xander and smirked.  
  
"Krillin, what is the meaning of this?" the master called out to him. "Where have you been?"  
  
"Sorry Master, but I wasn't ready to come to this assembly till just now." Krillin replied.  
  
"That is understandable, what with the attack you suffered yesterday. Still, you are not exempt from this. Go take your place with the rest of the students."  
  
Krillin shook his head negatively. "Nope, can't do that. I don't belong over there." he said. "I belong with the Brothers."  
  
The assembly broke into laughter at him, but Krillin did not seem to notice. Instead, he looked straight ahead at the Master, who not laughing either.  
  
"Quiet! Quiet now!" the Master barked. The assembly quickly became silent again. "What are you talking about, Krillin?"  
  
Krillin smiled confidently. "I'm too good to be a student anymore. I should be a Brother so I can get better training."  
  
"Krillin, that is out of the question. You are too young to be a Brother. Besides that, you are not even at the top level in the training program." said the Master.  
  
Krillin noticed Kenjo and Mikail waving at him to be quiet, but he ignored them. "That doesn't matter. I can beat any student in the training program, whatever their level, pretty easily. If you don't believe me, I can prove it to you." Everyone was silent as he raised his hand and pointed at Xander. "I challenge Xander, the best student in the top level, to a fight. If I beat him, that proves I'm ready to be a Brother and I think you should make me one."  
  
The challenged boy fairly shook with anger, barely restraining himself from attacking Krillin, who smirked at him. Krillin hoped that it was now dawning on Xander exactly why he had been spared the previous day. From his reaction, it seemed he had figured it out.  
  
"I'm sorry Krillin, but that is out of the question." replied the Master.  
  
Krillin whipped his head around and looked at the Master incredulously. "What? Why is it out of the question?!!"  
  
"We have rules for a reason, Krillin, and we are not in the habit of making exceptions. Even if it were true that you could beat Xander, you would still have to wait till you passed your next three level exams before even being considered for entry into the Brotherhood. And you don't just become a Brother because you can fight."  
  
"Well if you can't make me a Brother, at least put me on the top level if I win!" Krillin said desperately.  
  
"No Krillin." the Master replied firmly. "That is not how we do things. You must pass each level test first. Now, unless you have something else to tell me, go take your place with the other students."  
  
The assembly was silent as everyone waited to see how Krillin would respond. He chuckled to himself as he looked at the ground, a few tears running down his face. "You know, I can beat four of the best students here at the same time, and all you can talk about are stupid tests. Who cares about those damn tests anyway if they hold back the best students?" He abruptly turned and ran out of the hall. Xander watched him leave, then took off after him.  
  
"Krillin! Xander! You were not given permission to leave!" the Master called after them. The quiet assembly then burst into excited chatter at the events that had just transpired. Kenjo and Mikail rushed over to the Master.  
  
"Master, I think we should go after them. There's no telling what might happen..." Kenjo said.  
  
"Oh? What do you think might happen, Brother Kenjo?" he replied, looking hard at Kenjo.  
  
"Nothing Master!" Mikail interjected. "It's just...well, Krillin might go missing again..."  
  
"I see. Are you sure there is nothing you want to tell me, Brothers?" he asked. The two looked at one another before shaking their heads negatively.  
  
"Very well..." The Master cleared his throat before calling the assembly to attention. "Students, we will dismiss for the night but, if someone does not come forward with information tomorrow, we will be doing this again. You may go." He turned back to Kenjo and Mikail. "Let's go."  
  
-  
  
Krillin finally stopped running and leaned against the wall, sliding down it till he sat on the ground. His mind and emotions were in turmoil. He felt angry, angrier than he had ever been in his life, so angry he felt like crying. He clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging into his palms and drawing blood.  
  
"Damn, damn, damn!!!" he yelled out, pounding his right fist against the wall. "Stupid rules...stupid Master...everyone is trying to hold me back! All that work to get better and they won't even recognize it!"  
  
"Why should they, runt?" a familiar voice said. "Nobody here likes you. Nobody cares about you. You still haven't figured it out yet...we're better than you and that's the way it's gonna be forever!"  
  
"No..."  
  
"Yeah, you might've gotten lucky yesterday, but I'll be a Brother before you ever will be..."  
  
"Shut up..."  
  
"...you're nothing! You had the nerve to embarrass me like that in front of everybody! I'll make you pay for that runt..."  
  
"Shut up..."  
  
"...thinking you can be better than me...I hate you! I'll make your life here miserable..."  
  
"SHUT UP!!!"  
  
Krillin snapped.  
  
Xander never knew what hit him. In the blink of an eye, Krillin lit upon him, raining blows upon his body so fast he thought he was being jumped by several people. Krillin beat on him mercilessly, his mind in a red haze of anger, bitterness, and bloodlust. He never felt Xander's forearms break trying to block his blows. He never heard the audible pop of the boy's ribs as he cracked them. He hardly saw the blood pouring from cuts he inflicted with his fists. He only saw hatred, deep hatred that his target had built up inside him for years. He only heard the cry for revenge that had been echoing in his head for years. He only felt the desire to give Xander three years worth of bodily harm.  
  
Xander was now barely conscious and had long since ceased resisting the attack. He lay in a fetal position on the ground, coughing up blood and breathing raggedly. Krillin walked over and looked down at him with a hateful glare. He raised his right hand and brought it down to strike Xander, but a hand flashed out and caught it before it reached the boy.  
  
Krillin angrily slapped the hand away and looked up at it's owner, the Master. A flood of negative emotions welled in him. Without thinking, he lunged at the man with a left hook. The Master jumped back, avoiding the strike and blocking the next two punches that Krillin sent his way. Krillin lashed out at him with a roundhouse kick to the legs and, when the Master moved to block, he changed the kick into a side kick to the chest. The Master stopped the kick with his right hand, catching it and pushing forward to throw Krillin off balance. However, Krillin did not budge. Instead, he allowed his knee to bend and, when the Master got close enough, he jumped and landed a stamp kick with his left foot into the Master's gut. The Master let go of his right leg and he flipped back onto his feet. He turned around and faced the Master, who looked at him, surprised.  
  
By now a substantial crowd had gathered to watch the two face off. Some of the Brothers were about to intervene before the Master waved them back. Krillin launched himself at the Master again, this time using the Snake form. His hands darted at the Master, who deftly dodged the strikes. He grabbed hold of Krillin's hands and made to force Krillin back, but Krillin kicked at him. They began to trade blows solely with their feet. Krillin then bent his arms at the elbows and brought his hands back towards his head, breaking the Master's grip. As soon as he freed himself, he lashed out with lightning fast punches, forcing the Master to block instead of dodge.  
  
The Master began to grow tired. He had not fought seriously in quite a while and he was old. He could not keep up with the pace set by Krillin unless he began to fight back. He decided to end the fight quickly and decisively. For the first time in years, he needed to use his ki in battle.  
  
Krillin charged in again, but this time the Master moved too quickly for him to react. The Master moved in past Krillin's outstretched fist and tapped him on the chest with his fist. The tap, powered by ki, turned into a devastating move. Krillin felt the breath escape his lungs as pain exploded across his chest. He did not even realize he was flying through the air until he landed hard on the floor, rolling five feet. He clutched at his chest in agony, his breath coming in asthmatic gasps. A trickle of blood rolled out of his mouth.  
  
The crowd of students and Brothers were absolutely silent as they watched Krillin try to recover from the blow. The Master stood from his fighting stance and walked slowly towards Krillin, waving for Kenjo and Mikail, who had run to his side, to be quiet. Krillin finally sat up and looked at the Master, glaring at him angrily. The Master looked back at him with a stony glare.  
  
"So it was you then, that put those boys in the infirmary. And you were caught beating on Xander. I don't care what the reason was, we do not accept violence of that sort here." he said tightly. "You've been breaking the rules here for months. You are selfish, impatient, and lack control, and, somehow, you've managed to become very strong. You are a danger to the students and I cannot allow that."  
  
Krillin's anger quickly left him. "Wha...what are you trying to say?"  
  
"Pack your things and leave this place. You are no longer welcome at the Orinji monastery." the Master said, his tone hard.  
  
"Leave? I can't leave, I've got no place to go! Kenjo, Mikail, tell him!!!" he said desperately.  
  
"Krillin...I'm sorry, we can't." Kenjo responded sadly. Krillin felt sick to his stomach. He could get no help from them.  
  
"You should have thought of that before you did all this." the Master replied. "You will be given some food and a small amount of money. Brothers Kenjo and Mikail will take you to the village at the foot of the mountain. Never return here." He turned and addressed the crowd. "Everyone, back to your rooms. Anyone who is not in their rooms in 10 minutes will be severely punished."  
  
With no further words, the Master and his advisors walked past Krillin, who sat on the floor, obviously in shock. "WAIT!!!" he called out. The Master stopped and turned to look at him.  
  
"You want me out? Fine, but let me say something before I go." Krillin said. "Only two people have ever cared anything about me while I was here. The rest of you mean nothing to me. All the time I was getting my ass kicked by Xander and his flunkies, you all pretended like it didn't matter. Like *I* didn't matter. You're all probably glad to see the runt leave. Well if that's what the Orinji Brotherhood is about, then I don't need it!   
  
"I don't need any of you! I mastered the Orinji style by myself in six months! One day, I'll be the greatest martial artist ever to have trained in this temple! Hell, I'll be the greatest in the world! On my word as a martial artist, I'll make you guys sorry you ever kicked me out of here, that you let go of the best student that you ever had!"  
  
Outside, thunder clapped as rain descended on the mountain.  
  
-  
  
Krillin sat on a log in the forest clearing he had called his training ground for several months. He hardly seemed to notice the rain pouring down around him and, even if he did, he did not care. The incident that had taken place several hours prior had left him numb. Even the comforting parting words and kindness of the two men he considered to be his parents were hardly enough to shake him from his shock. In front of everyone he had put on a false front of confidence and disaffection but now, far from anyone, he could not. The tears had stopped an hour ago, but the numbness had remained.  
  
"What would Kou think if she saw me like this?" he wondered aloud. The thought gave him pause. What would she think of him, sitting there moping about his situation, instead of getting up and dealing with it? What would she say to motivate him?  
  
"She would say 'Fight Krillin. Don't give up'." Krillin said. "You're right, Kou. I will get up. I will fight. I won't ever give up. I have a promise to keep to you, to them....and to myself."  
  
He stood up and gathered his backpack, thinking fondly of Kou. The numbness had faded and, in it's place, a firm resolve now resided. He headed down the forest path towards the village at the foot of the mountain, never looking back, headed toward the beginning of a new chapter in his life.  
  
-  
  
Next time on Dragonball: Heart of a Warrior...Krillin is on his own now, but his journey to become the best martial artist in the world has only just begun. Who is this new guy and what is Krillin doing training with him? Find out in the next chapter of Heart of a warrior, Chapter 3: The Prince of Thieves; The "Invincible Fist of the Thief" Training  
  
-  
  
Author's Notes  
Ack, 6 weeks between chapters is not a good sign. On a brighter note, this chapter actually turned out to be long as hell and it's honestly two chapters worth of stuff, so you get more for your buck anyway. It was a bit difficult to write at times, but all in all I think this turned out well. This chapter ends the Orinji arc (obviously :D ) of the prequel portion of HOAW. There will be three more parts to the prequel before I get into Dragonball proper with the Turtle Hermit training.  
To answer a couple questions that I figure will come about: Yes, Krillin is that good. He didn't just come to Roshi without the ability to learn and grow quickly. Yes, Xander is that stupid, as most bigots/bullies tend to be.   
Finally, I'd like to give some thank you shout-outs to my prereaders, Engar, The_Stinger, [SAS]Orion, and my beautiful girlfriend Kim (who has to put up with my incessant discussions of the plot for this story). Also, big thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, glad you enjoyed it. Don't be afraid to get tough with me either, I can take it.  
As always, if you'd like to preread for me and you feel like you can be merciless with my work, shoot me an email at mo_cain@hotmail.com. The more the merrier ^_^  
Sorry for making you read this long AN section ~_~ 


	5. The Prince of Thieves

Disclaimer: Dragonball is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama and Toei and licensed to FUNImation. I had nothing to do with it's creation; if I had, you wouldn't be reading this. Anyway, all non-Toriyama characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so FUNI, if you're reading, please leave your lawyers to people who are actually infringing your copyrights for profit.  
  
And now, our feature presentation...  
  
Heart of a Warrior  
  
Chapter 3a – The Prince of Thieves  
  
The Ose Misely Cantina was bustling with activity, thanks largely to the lunch rush and the sweltering midday heat. It's dimly lit interior provided a respite from the outdoors, provided one was willing to chance an encounter with its somewhat shady customers. Many of these customers were either huddled together in quiet conversation, enjoying (and that word is used very loosely) an afternoon meal, or having a cool drink, all while warily glancing at the other patrons. In general, however, an uneasy, hushed peace lay over the establishment.  
  
Everyone, save one man, in the bar started and whipped their heads around towards the swinging doors, which had flown open loudly, disturbing the peace of the establishment. As they looked at the silhouette of a small person holding open the doors momentarily, a few of the bar's patrons, certain they recognized *that* silhouette, felt a tightening in their throats. However, they breathed sighs of relief as the person stepped into the bar, revealing himself to be a young, travel-worn boy of about 12 years. He let the doors swing and slowly made his way towards the bar, a staff with a small rolled bundle tied to its end resting on his shoulders. If he noticed the ugly looks being shot his way, he did not let on. Reaching the bar, he rested his staff against a stool, then hopped up onto the stool and called for the bartender. The bartender gave him an unfriendly look while coming over.  
  
"I want a drink." Krillin stated plainly.  
  
"Ain't you a bit young to be drinkin'?" came the reply through a scowl.  
  
"I'm old enough to take care of myself, so why not?" said Krillin, a bit annoyed. "Anyway, I just want water."  
  
The bartender burst into laughter. "Haw haw, didja hear that? Says he wants WATER!" he called out loudly. His remarks had the desired effects of both embarassing Krillin and causing raucous laughter in the saloon. Krillin ground his teeth and tightened his grip on the bar, his face turning red.   
  
"Are you gonna give me the water or not?" Krillin said tightly through his teeth. "It's not like I don't have any money."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get it for ya, kid, keep yer britches on." the bartender replied, chuckling. He filled a dusty looking mug with tap water that did not look very cool at all. Krillin looked at it warily as he dug a coin out from his pocket and slapped it onto the bar. The bartender shook his head, grinning. "No charge kid."  
  
Krillin grunted his thanks, then took a gulp of the tepid water. It tasted stale, but he was not going to complain. It was free, after all.  
  
The last week had been the most difficult week in Krillin's young life. He had gone from being an orphan to being homeless In the span of a few minutes. True enough, the Orinji had given him food and money, but what good had it really done him? He had never been allowed to set so much as a foot off the mountain since he had been born and had never seen a village. His whole life had revolved around the activities in the monastery. Therefore it was quite a culture shock to enter the village. Though it was a very small village, to him it seemed too large to believe. It looked and smelled and sounded different from anything he had experienced before. Krillin spent much of his first day just walking around looking in the windows of the shops and at the foods for sale in the produce market. The villagers who cared could easily see that he was new, which marked him for all sorts of swindles and cons. In addition to his transition to the outside world, Krillin also had to learn how to manage money for food. Since he had been raised in the monastery and never did want for a meal, he never gave such things a thought. Now however, having to fend for himself, he'd found the money did not go very far, especially in a world full of unscrupulous people ready to take advantage of a naive young boy. Within a few days he'd squandered his money and eaten all his food. Here his training came in handy, as he was forced to resort to stealing food here and there.   
  
Further, he had no shelter whatsoever. His attempts to find them would have been funny, had the situation not been so serious. He regretted his decision not to stay at his training area after finding no affordable rooms. He could not even sleep on a bench because the police would rouse vagrants who did. In the end he'd ended up huddling in an alley behind a store with other homeless people. It was smelly and miserable. Krillin, on his third day out, was beginning to wonder if he should swallow his pride and go throw himself on the mercy of the Master. But the words of the old man echoed in his mind: "Never return here."  
  
Krillin had risen on the fourth day in the same alley. The entire situation angered him. After all, had he not been right to defend himself? Making the bullies pay for what they did to him? And yet they remained at Orinji and he was banished. It was a very, very bitter pill to swallow. He walked around brooding, the anger simmering just beneath his expressionless exterior. He made a wrong turn into the wrong alley, where a group of thugs were busy doing nothing. When they demanded his money, he instead gave them all free passes to the hospital and, seizing the opportunity, relieved them of their money. Newly enriched, Krillin decided he had seen all of the village he could stand and walked out of it that very hour, not really caring where he went as long it was far away from there.  
  
Four days hard travel (punctuated by a few fights with roving bandits and various big animals) brought him to where he now sat, drinking stale, lukewarm water from a dirty glass in a shady tavern. "Yup...my life sucks." Krillin muttered to no one in particular before taking another gulp of water. As he set the mug back onto the bar, someone tapped him on his left shoulder. He turned to see a slightly disfigured young man wearing a red leather jacket with far too many zippers, who had been standing next to his stool, looking at him. Krillin eyed the man warily.  
  
"What?" he said evenly.  
  
"My friend don't like you." the man replied bluntly, gesturing to a wolf sitting two stools down from Krillin.  
  
"That's nice." Krillin snorted, turning back to his drink. The man did not apparently did not care for Krillin's tone because he grabbed Krillin's shoulder and forcefully turned him back around. Krillin fought the urge to strike out at the man, instead glaring at him.  
  
"I don't like you either!" the man said, almost giddily. "You better watch yourself. We're made men. Our gang runs this town."  
  
Krillin doubted that the gang was worth anything if the two people he was looking at now were any measure. "Yeah, well I'll be careful." he replied curtly, returning again to his drink. Again the man grabbed his shoulder and turned him around forcefully. Krillin's patience was near its limits.  
  
"You'll be DEAD!!!" the man said loudly. He looked to be making a move before another voice stopped him.  
  
"This little one's not worth the effort, friend." the voice said. Krillin looked at the owner of the voice. The man wore a hooded brown cloak that ran to the ground and covered his body. The cloak was off his head, which had shoulder length blonde hair. His face was very chiseled and his eyes were ice blue. He seemed, to Krillin, to have a very friendly face. "Now, allow me to get you something."  
  
The men, angry at the interruption, reached for weapons but as soon as they had laid hands on them they fell backwards onto the floor, unconscious. The shocked crowd in the bar, which had been watching the incident, wondered, confused, as to what had transpired. Everyone, that is, but Krillin, who sat staring at the man, nearly goggle-eyed. He had only just barely seen what everyone else had missed. As the men reached for their weapons, the man had quickly, more quickly than Krillin thought possible, reached into his cloak and pulled out a pair of nunchaku. With amazing speed, he struck both men on the temple with the weapon, then replaced it beneath the cloak before returning to his previous stance. The entire sequence was so fast that no one else, not even the men, had seen it happen.  
  
"Hmmm...bad spot of luck there." the man said as if surprised. He turned to Krillin. "Now then, I guess you're ok?"  
  
Krillin shook himself out of his stupor. "Wha-? Oh! Yeah, yeah, fine!" he stammered.  
  
"Good, good." the man said, smiling. "I say, you do look a little worn. Would you care to join me?"  
  
"Huh?" Krillin responded, confused.  
  
"I was just sitting down to lunch."  
  
"Oh...no, that's ok." Just then, Krillin's stomach made itself known with a loud growl. The man grinned.  
  
"Are you sure? It's on me of course-"  
  
"Well in that case, I wouldn't mind a bit of lunch..."  
  
"Very good then! Barkeep, a plate of meat and bread for my little friend here!" he said before turning to walk towards his table. Krillin followed the man back to his table and sat opposite of him, questions swirling in his head.  
  
"Well now, you look awfully young to be travelling alone...eh, what did you say your name is again?"  
  
"Krillin." he replied simply.  
  
"Ah yes, Krillin. You can't be more than eleven or twelve years old and here you are wandering into a place like this. While I admire your courage, this is no place for a kid..."  
  
"Hey, I can take care of myself!" Krillin replied heatedly. "And I'm not a kid...um, whatever your name is!"  
  
"Ah, forgive me again, I forgot to tell you my name. My name is...STEELIN HOOD!" the man said, pausing dramatically at the end. Krillin stared at him, trying to understand why he would do such a thing. "Um...I said my name is Steelin Hood!"  
  
"Oooooh-kay. Is that supposed to mean something?" Krillin asked, a bewildered look on his face.  
  
Steelin looked slightly put off. "I'm THE steelin Hood. Descendant of the great thief Robin Hood. Haven't you heard of him?"  
  
"Nope. Should I have?"  
  
Steelin looked surprised for a moment before chuckling. "Well, this is certainly a change of pace, and not an entirely bad one. Imagine having the legacy of a distant relative always over your head...Anyway, as I said, my name is Steelin Hood, reknowned thief and martial artist that steals from the rich and gives to the poor!"  
  
Krillin perked up, and not simply because the food had arrived. "Martial artist, huh?" he thought. "I wonder what style it is..."  
  
"So, Krillin tell me..." Steelin said. "What takes you this far from Orinji? I don't remember them allowing students your age out on training journies."  
  
Krillin's face held a look of amazement. "H-how...how did you know I'm from Orinji?"  
  
"Oh, little signs. Your hands are tough-looking and your knuckles are worn. You're fairly sturdy for a young boy. You have only about a week's growth of hair on your head. Those all point to you having been trained in the martial arts by monks. But what gave you away was those six dots, which only students and monks of Orinji have."  
  
Krillin felt his forehead, suddenly remembering that he had not attempted to remove the dots yet. His estimation of Steelin had just changed again. "It's not a training journey. I don't belong to the Orinji brotherhood anymore." he said simply.  
  
"Oh? What happened?"  
  
"Nothing..." Krillin lied. "Let's just say that I'd outgrown the place and had nothing else to learn."  
  
"Well now, I'm sure you had *something* else to learn. After all, one doesn't master a style overnite..."  
  
Krillin smirked, pride evident on his face. "I did. Maybe not overnight, but in less than a year. They might not say it, but I'm a master of the Orinji style. I don't think anyone there can beat me but the Master." Krillin's voice turned cold when he said the last part. "And even then he used some kinda trick to beat me."  
  
"I see..."  
  
"No, really, it's true. If you don't believe me, we can step outside and I'll show you!"  
  
"I believe you, Krillin, I believe you. But, please, eat before your food gets cold. I'm afraid that food will be nearly inedible once that happens."  
  
As Krillin dug in, Steelin continued talking. "You must be quite exceptional if you learned the Orinji style so quickly. Quite exceptional..." he trailed off, lost in thought.  
  
"And what about you?" Krillin asked between bites. "How'd you get here?"  
  
"Ah, fair enough. As I mentioned, I'm a thief and martial artist, mostly martial artist. I've been travelling the world for ten years while preparing my life's work. Any martial artist worth his salt wants to be the creator of a new form that will become famous and invincible. That is what I've been doing since the age of 21."  
  
"What's this style of yours called?"  
  
"The Invincible Thief's Fist!" Steelin replied, pausing dramatically. Again, Krillin looked bewildered. "Ah, sorry about that, I'm still practicing for the day that a dramatic pause is necessary."  
  
"Riiiiight. So what is it all about then? Defense? Offense? Air attacks?"  
  
"Oh, a little of everything. Mainly, however, it's about all the skills and physical abilities that make perfect thieves. I suppose you might say it's ninjutsu without the assassination part."   
  
Krillin looked past Steelin to the doors of the bar, where men dressed much like the thugs dispatched earlier were beginning to walk in. The other patrons, sensing trouble, made haste for the exits. "Looks like someone is beginning to take an interest in your handiwork." Krillin said, smirking slightly, nodding in the direction of the entrance. Steelin did not turn to look.  
  
"Well, I must admit I'm impressed. Very impressed indeed." Steelin replied. "I didn't think anyone saw that move. Next time I won't show off by going one-fifth my real speed." He looked at Krillin seriously. "I haven't had a student yet, but I think you've shown that you've got what it takes to learn the Thief's Fist. I'd like for you to be my first student. I'm new to the whole teaching thing, so we'll both learn. What do you say?"  
  
Krillin tried not to seem too impressed. After all, the man could have been lying. But, then again, he had knocked those two men out in a split second, so there was little reason to believe he could not do more of the like. "There's no way I'd have been able to stop that." he thought. Krillin also knew what ninjas were capable of and if this form were comparable, the skills might come in handy. First, however, he wanted to see the style in action.  
  
"They're headed this way." Krillin said quietly, wondering why Steelin was not at least a little concerned about the approaching gang.  
  
"Yes, I know, and I seriously doubt they want to have tea." Steelin replied, still smiling. "But that notwithstanding, do you want to study with me? I can see that gleam in your eyes. It's in the eyes of all martial artists, especially when they want to learn more. You want to know what I know, right?"  
  
Krillin nodded. "Yeah. But first I want to see what you and your style can really do. How about a test?"  
  
"Shouldn't the teacher say that to the potential student?" Steelin replied, grinning.  
  
"The teacher doesn't ask the student to study either."  
  
"Point taken..."  
  
It was Krillin's turn to grin. "Ok, right now about 15 armed guys are headed for us. Beat them all by yourself and I'll be happy to call you master."  
  
Steelin leaned back in his chair and laughed. "This must be a first! Very well then, I'm sure this will be amusing."  
  
"I'll leave it to you then." Krillin replied as the men stopped at their table. He rose from his seat, picking up his staff and placing it back on his shoulder. He made to walk away from the table before two of the gang members, a bald and muscular black man and a white man with a scarred face and a mohawk, blocked his way.  
  
"No you don't, kid." one of them snarled. "You stay where you are if you know what's good for you."  
  
Krillin looked up at the toughs, smirking. "You guys don't look like you could stop me if I wanted to go. But I'm just gonna stick around and watch anyway."  
  
"Punk kid!" the black man snarled, waving a foot long length of pipe menacingly. "I'll-"  
  
"EXCUSE ME, GENTLEMEN!" Steelin's voice rang out, interrupting the man. He looked up at the man from where he was sitting. "Might we help you with something? If not, we shall be on our way."  
  
"Well, ain't we proper, guv'nah?" said another man, who was as skinny as a scarecrow, in a mocking accent. His comrades burst into laughter at the mockery.  
  
"Shut up!" the black man barked. Everyone immediately quieted down. "Now, we got a little business with ya'll. My little bro' says that you beat him and his friend up. That wasn't very smart; they're both true members of the Heaven's Devils."  
  
"They are also ill-mannered cowards who like to pick fights with children. But considering the leaders they have to look up to, I suppose one could not expect any better."  
  
"You tryin' to say I'm a coward?!!" the black man growled.  
  
"No, I'm not trying to do anything. I AM saying you are a COWARD. And apparently you have recruited your 'Devils' on the basis that they also be cowards." Krillin, noticing the anger that Steelin's last comment caused in the men, laughed out loud.  
  
"Bastard! You'll pay for that!" the black man screamed. "Devils! Get 'em!!!"  
  
Krillin's mind immediately slipped into it's 'fight perception', where time seemed to slow down. He noted that only two people were moving to attack him, likely because they did not see him as a real threat. "Their mistake" he thought. Both had wound up to swing at him, one with a baseball bat and another with a tire iron. He considered a more risky bare-handed defense and counterattack, but decided against the plan. After all, their weapons increased their striking distance and Krillin's short limbs would have made it very difficult to defend. He quickly decided on a few quick, decisive moves that would end the struggle quickly. He did want to see Steelin fight, after all.  
  
Krillin whipped his staff up, blocking the bat of the first attacker, then jabbing hard at the man's face with the end of the staff. As he reeled and fell backwards, Krillin swung the staff to the right with his right hand, blocking the tire iron of the second attacker. As the man stumbled off balance, krillin jumped and spun clockwise, kicking his leg out and catching the man on the at the base of the neck with his heel. The man fell like a sack of gravel, out cold. Krillin returned his attention to the first attacker, who had raised his bat again to strike. Krillin jabbed him in the solar plexus with the staff, then jumped in the air and brought the staff down on the man's head like he was chopping wood. He landed and turned quickly to see how Steelin was fairing.  
  
Steelin sent another man flying, the fifth who had been turned back by his defense. Krillin noticed that Steelin didn't look to be in a very effective stance or position, nor did his technique seem to be that tight. He even seemed slower somehow, a fact that confused Krillin. Had he not seen Steelin move faster than anyone could see? "Maybe I made a mistake..."  
  
Another guy ran in and was tossed away, but this time Krillin saw everything. The man swung a pipe at Steelin, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Just as it seemed he would be struck, Steelin seemed to almost teleport inside the man's guard, slamming a hard punch upwards into his chin. As the punch lifted the man off the ground, Steelin quickly kicked out to the side, hitting the man in the stomach and sending him flying. Steelin then quickly resumed his original stance. Krillin once again looked at Steelin with goggle-eyes. That whole exchange had taken place in a second!  
  
Three more men closed in, swinging their weapons at Steelin. Almost casually, steelin cartwheeled out of the way. He moved so fast the men seemed to be in slow motion. As their weapons clashed where he had been, Steelin was already halfway through dispatching them. He sent one soaring with a roundhouse kick. A split second later, he spun and landed a palm heel thrust into another's shoulder, the joint dislocating with a sickening pop, sending the man flying into the bar. Finally, he spun back to his left, sending the last man sprawling with a vicious backfist. Once again, Steelin returned to a standing position, his hands clasped behind his back.  
  
The final six assailants seemed to understand that they would need to attack at once, because they all descended on Steelin in a rush. Steelin whipped off his cloak with a flourish, tossing it high into the air. He looked at krillin as if to say "They'll be down before that cloak hits the floor." The chains, bats, and pipes whistled as they descended on the spot where Steelin stood, but he vacated the area almost before they realized it. He dropped into a crouch and, effortlessly, performed a move that Krillin was certain should have been impossible. With one strong spin, he swept all six men off their feet with his outstretched leg. Krillin glanced upwards at the cloak, which had just reached its apex 12 feet in the air. Steelin stood so quickly that the men seemed to be floating in mid-air next to him. He simultaneously side kicked to his left while punching with both hands to the right, knocking two of the men into opposite walls of the saloon. As soon as he struck them, he returned to center before performing, simultaneously, a back kick and a forward punch. Two more men flew into opposite walls. He returned to center again, then jumped and kicked the last two men out of the air, sending one crashing into a table and one flying out of a window. Steelin returned to a standing position casually as the cloak floated down, resting on his shoulders as if he had just put it on.  
  
"Hmm...not too good were they?" he said, looking around at the decimated gang. He brushed at his cloak and refastened it around his neck.  
  
"W-what...the hell...was THAT?!!" Krillin stammered, amazement evident in his voice and on is face.  
  
"That, Krillin, is the Thief's Fist."  
  
-----  
  
Krillin walked behind Steelin as they headed down the main street of the village away from the saloon. People were still surveying the aftermath and carting away the members of the "Heaven's Devils" to the jail. Fortunately Steelin had given the bar owner enough money to convince him not to press charges on them. Now they were on a mission to 'obtain the appropriate accoutrement', but what that meant Krillin did not know.   
  
"Master, can I ask where we are going?" he asked.  
  
"Ugh...dispense with the 'Master' title. I'm not worthy of that and, quite honestly, it makes me feel odd." Steelin said, turning to grin at his new student. "Just call me Steelin or sensei. That's pretty much what I am, right? Your teacher."  
  
"Ok Ma...I mean, Sensei." Krillin said. "Well, where are we going then Sensei."  
  
"I thought I already said..."  
  
"You did, but I didn't understand."  
  
"Ah...well, more simply, we're going to get supplies. However, I seem to be fresh out of cash."  
  
"I don't have anything but some change. What're we gonna do?"  
  
"Oh, that's simple enough. We'll steal!" Steelin responded cheerfully. And with that, he turned on his heel and continued down the street.  
  
Krillin sighed. them turned to follow his new teacher. He had a feeling that Steelin would say that.  
  
"Krillin, I want you to watch me as we walk through these stores. I mentioned before that the Thief's Fist incorporates the thieving arts into a martial art. So it is good to see not only the martial applications of the form but also the more practical applications as well. However, do not take anything yourself. You are not quite ready for it."  
  
"But Steelin, I've stolen plenty of times. I'm not to bad at it either." Krillin responded.  
  
"Perhaps. But if you steal as well, you won't be paying attention to me, and that is really the point of this exercise, that you see the form in action. Besides, " he said, grinning. "Don't students usually obey their teacher's instructions?"  
  
Krillin sighed, knowing he was beaten. "Yes, sensei."  
  
"Good, good. Well, let's get to it then."  
  
For what seemed like forever to Krillin (but was more like a half hour), they walked through a few stores, only pausing once for Steelin to make a purchase. Krillin watched closely but could not seem to see any theft taking place. His Sensei did seem to be rather clumsy, however. He accidentally bumped into several people and caused a few accidents in the stores. Other than poring over the merchandise, as if considering an important purchase, nothing was really out of the ordinary. Needless to say, Krillin was fairly confused as to what exactly he was supposed to have been studying during the shopping trip. As soon as they were back on the street, he mentioned this to Steelin.  
  
"Ah ha, therein lies the beauty of the form, my young apprentice. The very essence of the Thief's Fist. Even you, with your heightened senses and quick eyes, could not see blatant theft in front of your own eyes."  
  
"What? You're kidding me."  
  
"I kid you not. See for yourself." Steelin opened his cloak. Inside Krillin could see some of the merchandise that he'd seen in the stores. Before he could stammer a response, Steelin held up his hand for silence. "Krillin, you could not see it because I did not want you to see it. It was a lesson for you to see the true strength of what I will teach you. The power over perception. When you begin to understand this, you will begin to master the Thief's Fist."  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
-----  
  
Author's Notes  
  
I think I owe the people who took the time to read and comment on my story an apology. It's been over 4 months since I updated HoaW, and the best I can do is a half chapter. By all rights it is long enough to be its own chapter, and it stops at a logical place. I'd planned for more to this one, but I'll follow up on it as soon as I can. I won't bore you guys with excuses, I'll just try to get chapters out in more reasonable time in the future. I won't promise that 3b will be out in the next week or two, but I'm aiming for the first week of August to have it done. Thanks for bearing with me.  
  
Someone suggested I move this story to DBZ so that it'll get more exposure. While I would welcome the exposure, I think HoaW should stay in the DB section for two reasons. First, the story at this point is only dealing with Dragonball, so putting it in the DBZ section is misleading. Second, I prefer Dragonball over DBZ and, as silly as it sounds, I'd prefer to not add to that section. At least not until I eventually get around to DBZ. (at this rate, it could be years from now X_x ) As long as a few people are reading the story, I'll be happy.  
  
Sorry for making you read this long AN section ~_~ 


	6. Fateful Reunion

Disclaimer: Dragonball is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama and Toei and licensed to FUNImation. I had nothing to do with it's creation; if I had, you wouldn't be reading this. Anyway, all non-Toriyama characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so FUNI, if you're reading, please leave your lawyers to people who are actually infringing your copyrights for profit. 

And now, our feature presentation...

Heart of a Warrior

Chapter 3b – Fateful Reunion

"Focus, Krillin." Steelin said in a voice that seemed to be everywhere at once. "If you make a mistake, I'll send three shuriken at you."

Krillin grunted an affirmative; he knew the drill by now. He was in the middle of a clearing surrounded by ten department store mannequins, each covered in bells. The object of the exercise was really simple: steal all the bells without making a sound. The description of the exercise was, of course, the only simple thing about it. The fact that he had only a minute to do so while dodging a shuriken for each bell he touched made it just a bit less than easy. Krillin was confident, however, because his last attempt at this exercise had been very nearly successful and he was sure he could do it correctly this time.

Suddenly, he began moving, flitting about the mannequins without so much as a whisper. The only sound to be heard was the thud of shuriken striking the ground like machine gun bullets. Before the minute had expired, the shuriken had stopped flying and Krillin stood in his starting position holding a bulging bag over his right shoulder and breathing quickly. A triumphant grin was plastered on his face.

"Well done, Krillin!" Steelin said as he leaped from a tree, landing within a few yards of Krillin. "I see you sorted out those tricky ones that caused you trouble last time. You even managed to finish with a bit of time to spare."

"Thank you, sensei." Krillin said as he dropped the bag onto the ground. It hit the ground with a very heavy sounding thud. "Next time, I'll do it even faster."

Steelin laughed. "I believe you, because next time you have only half a minute." He tactfully did not notice as Krillin's jaw dropped. "Now then, we're done with Thief's Fist for today. Let's have lunch, then we'll focus on Orinji kung-fu afterwards."

The two martial artists returned to their camp and began to eat in silence. Krillin learned early on that Steelin preferred to meditate during a meal. Having spent his entire life in a monastery where the monks enforced silence during meals, Krillin accepted his teacher's wishes quite easily. Following his teacher's example, Krillin also spent the time reflecting on the four months he had spent training under Steelin.

It certainly had not started out as smoothly as he had thought it would. Steelin had led them out to the wilderness, where they had set up a spartan camp. After sparring to determine Krillin's abilities, he had announced, with no small surprise, that Krillin was not conditioned enough to undertake the Thief's Fist training.

"That won't do. We'll have to train you up, and quickly." Steelin had said. "Get some rest. I guarantee you'll regret it tomorrow if you don't."

He had not been kidding. Krillin had learned very fast that his new teacher's methods were extremely demanding. For an entire month, Steelin had had him doing hundreds of strength building exercises and running twenty miles every day. Between all of that, they had also sparred several times a day. Unsurprisingly, Krillin had eaten like a horse and slept soundly thanks to this tiring routine.

The daily sparring also revealed a painful truth for Krillin. After stalling for a week, Steelin had finally gotten around to broaching the subject.

"Krillin, don't take this badly, but did you really master the Orinji style?" he had asked. Krillin had been shocked and, just as quickly, angrily defensive.

"Of course I did! I almost fought the Master to a standstill." he retorted.

"Maybe so, but I assure you that you're not a master of the form. Don't get me wrong, you're very advanced, and you know a lot of high level techniques, but your style is incomplete and unpolished.."

"And how would you know that?" Krillin asked, heatedly.

"Because I've mastered the Orinji style." replied Steelin in a cool tone. "I'd say, from what you've shown me, that you've probably taught yourself most of the advanced stuff. The Orinji are notoriously inflexible when it comes to their rules. Those monks never did have enough sense to advance the most promising pupils. That would explain why you show mastery in your basics but not in your advanced techniques."

This revelation had been devastating. The whole time, Krillin had been puffed up with the idea that he was better than the people that had sent him away. In reality, in the face of an objective person, he was barely a bad knock-off.

"Look, Krillin, I don't want you to take this badly, but I do want you to know the truth. It won't do if you are going around with a higher opinion of your abilities than is true."

After a few minutes, Krillin had finally asked the inevitable. "Ok then, please help me finish my training."

"Krillin, I'm teaching you Thief's Fist. That'll be more than enough for you..."

"I can do both, especially now, while I'm only doing strength training."

"Krillin, you won't have the time or the strength. No, I can't do that."

"Please, I humbly beg you to train me." Krillin had dropped to the ground and prostrated before his master. "Sensei, please, I've got to truly master the Orinji style...it's important."

Steelin had shaken his head and sighed. "Very well, I'll teach you, but my Thief's Fist training will always dominate the time. And I won't slow down on either, so you'd better be able to keep up or I'll cut out the Orinji training."

Since then, Krillin had applied himself more earnestly than ever. His pride would not let him accept less than mastery over the Orinji style. It was a grueling pace that only became worse as his month of conditioning ended and the real Thief's Fist training began. He had struggled through it all, never daring to complain or to ask for the pace to slow. Three months later, his steadfast manner was paying off. The training, while no less rigorous, was becoming less painful. His body had adjusted to the regimen, freeing his mind to absorb and process the things he was learning.

Krillin finished his meal quickly, as was his habit, and, after clearing away his dishes, he spent the next half hour practicing with nunchaku. Steelin was a master of chain weapons, particularly the nunchaku, and these weapons were an integral part of the Thief's Fist. The nunchaku was the most difficult (due to Steelin's affinity for it) to master, so Krillin used any spare moment to work on his form.

"You're doing very well, Krillin." Steelin said as his pupil finished practicing. "I'll make you a master of that weapon yet. Now then, I have a few new moves for the advanced tiger form that you need to learn..."

"I think that it is time we return to civilization." Steelin said suddenly a few days later. He had just finished sparring with Krillin, who, from the way he was sprawled on the ground, had apparently gotten the worst of their last exchange. However, Krillin hopped to his feet, looking no worse for the wear and ready to continue their match.

"We're going back to the city?" he asked. "So does that mean my training is complete?" he asked.

Steelin chuckled at the question. "No, you're not quite there yet, though I will admit that you've progressed much faster than I expected. In fact, you'd probably be further along if you were devoted only to Thief's Fist..."

Krillin's face darkened for the slightest moment. "So...if my training isn't done, why are we leaving?"

"We need a change of pace. Monotony is not a friend of Martial Artists; this is why many of us go on training journeys." Steelin could see that Krillin wasn't entirely convinced about that explanation. "Ok, fine, it wouldn't hurt to shower and eat things we don't have to catch ourselves."

"Finally!" exclaimed Krillin. "I thought you'd never say that."

Since they kept a very basic camp, it was not long before they had packed up. Krillin put on his new cloak, which was in the same style as Steelin's and had a small crest with the word "Nottingham" on it. "Ok, Krillin, now for our next training exercise. We're going to sprint the entire way back to the village."

Krillin considered the exercise for a moment. The village was over ten miles away. It would be tiring, but not impossible, especially after all of the running he had done during the last four months. "No problem." he said with more than a little confidence.

"You're confident...good. You'll be carrying all of the bags." Steelin said as he fastened his cloak around his neck.

"Is that it?" Krillin asked, now sounding quite over-confident.

"And we'll be going through the trees."

The going was unbelievably tough. It wasn't anything like running, or even jumping, as Krillin thought it might be. He could not seem to do it as fluidly as Steelin, who glided between trees, just barely stepping on the branches at the tops of the trees. His burden was heavy and he simply could not step on those flimsy branches, so he was forced to jump through the trees. After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the village. Krillin was scratched, dirty, and sore; Steelin looked as if he had just finished dressing.

"How does he do that!" thought Krillin as he tried to catch his breath. His shoulder's were sore and his back ached. He followed Steelin into Utopia Village, which they had only briefly visited months before, after having caught a train to it from where they had first met. It was not exactly large, but it did have a few traffic lights and a hotel down the main street.

"I think we'll go check into a hotel..." Steelin said, as they walked through a row of vendors selling produce. Krillin, however, barely heard him. Something, or rather someone, had just caught his eye. He saw a flash of gold in the afternoon sun and heard a pair of voices that sounded very familiar. He dropped the bags and turned around to look back at a stand they had just passed. In front of it stood a tall, orange haired man, a black haired boy, and a blond girl. The girl reached up with her right hand to pull the hair away from her face. Krillin felt a wave of emotion sweep through his heart that made him inhale sharply. The girl that had been on his mind for nearly a year had suddenly appeared before his eyes.

It was Kou.

She had grown a bit and her hair was shorter, but she still had that voice that sounded like music in Krillin's ears. She and her brother were poking about the vendor's stand while their father seemed to be haggling the price of a bunch of bananas. It took a moment for the shock of seeing them to wear off before he realized that they were both shoplifting, and rather inexpertly. They were so obvious that other vendors, as well as the stand owner's wife, were looking at them suspiciously.

"I was wondering where you'd gone." Steelin said, startling Krillin. He glanced in the direction Krillin was looking. "Hmmph. These amateurs are going to make our 'shopping' difficult. They're terrible!"

"Maybe, but I know those people." replied Krillin quietly. "We should do something before they get caught."

"Agreed. I'll distract everyone and take care of the man. You handle the other two...and make sure you appropriate their 'merchandise', in case someone decides to search them."

Krillin approached Kou and her brother quietly, going over everything he had learned the last four months. He never imagined he would be putting it to use so soon. Out the corner of his eye, he could see Steelin striding purposefully towards Houou and the vendor, making entirely too much noise for someone that was just walking.

"Oi, Orange-san!" Steelin called out. "I thought that was you, you old blighter! Long time no see..."

Everyone was suddenly paying attention to Steelin, giving Krillin time to make his move. In a flash, he was behind Kou and her brother. Working swiftly, as he had done with the bell training, he snatched everything that the two had stuffed into their pants and shirts while keeping a sharp eye out for anyone who might be looking. After about five seconds the distraction began to wear off, but he wasn't quite finished.

"Remember your training! Make them see what you want them to see." he thought. He tapped Kou on the shoulder and simultaneously lifted another item from her brother.

"Don't be alarmed." Krillin said so quietly that only they could hear. They both stiffened and made to turn around. "Don't move! You guys are about to get caught unless you do what I say. On my word, turn around and act like you know me, then follow me. If anyone stops you, let them search you. Ok?"

The two nodded slightly. "Kou, Hou! There's a capsule store down the street! Let's go check it out!" Krillin said loudly enough for others to hear. Kou and Hou turned around to face him. Hou played his part well enough.

"Really?" he said. "Cool, that sounds like fun!"

Kou looked at Krillin in shock. She moved toward him, but Krillin shook his head slightly at her. She looked questioningly at him, but followed along with her brother. "Ok, let's go see it." she said.

Krillin glanced in Steelin's direction and saw that, like Kou and Hou, Houou was following Steelin away from the vendor's stand. The man glanced in their direction; no doubt Steelin had let him in on what they were doing. Houou looked worriedly at something that was just over Krillin's shoulder. Or someone just behind him.

"Hold on now, son." said a man from behind him. Krillin turned to find himself looking up at a man with a Deputy badge pinned to his shirt. He had a distinctly suspicious look on his face. "I'm gonna need your two friends here to empty their pockets."

"Um...I don't understand. Why do they need to empty their pockets?" he asked, hoping he sounded convincingly innocent.

"Well, I got a few complaints about some people taking a 'five finger discount' down here, so I came down to see for myself. These two and their father have been very busy down here."

"You're joking, right? They'd never do that." Krillin said, though he could see quite clearly that the Deputy was not buying it. "Ok, fine. Turn out your pockets, guys."

Kou and Hou complied, rather hesitantly. With a start, they realized that their pockets were empty, as were the various other places they had stashed items. Trembling slightly, they both pulled their pockets out. "See, I told you they wouldn't steal anything." said Krillin.

"Yours too, son."

Krillin was expecting this. It was time to really test what he had learned. He concentrated his energy into his arms and let it flow into his cloak. He opened his cloak, which was lined with everything he had pilfered, and looked up at the deputy. The man's eyes were blinking, trying to focus, though Krillin knew that he would only see empty pockets. The deputy rubbed his eyes and shook his head, but he didn't say anything to suggest that he had seen anything out of the ordinary. Krillin let out a sigh of relief.

"I don't know what you three did, but you'd better be careful, because I'll be watching you." the man said, shaking his head one more time. "Now get on."

Krillin led Kou and Hou away from the market, trying not to walk to quickly. He turned into an alley and looked back to make sure they were not being followed. "Man, that was too close." he said. Before he could say anything else, he felt himself being smothered by a surprisingly strong hug.

"Krillin! I can't believe it!" Kou exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"

"Can't...breathe..." Krillin gasped. She let him go, which simultaneously relieved and disappointed him. "I should ask you guys the same thing, shoplifting so obviously like that! We were just able to keep you guys out of jail.

"Oh right...thank you for that. Really, it's Dad's fault. He's such a bad gambler..." Her brother cleared his throat rather loudly. "Oops, sorry, brother! Krillin, this is my brother, Hou. Hou, this is Krillin, the boy I met back at the Orinji temple."

They shook hands. Krillin noticed that the boy's grip was quite strong and that he was squeezing unnecessarily hard. "I've heard a lot about you. It's amazing how much she's talked about you, even though you only met once. I thought you'd be taller."

Krillin flushed, but he did not rise to the bait "I get that a lot." he responded, tightening his grip on Hou's hand. He noted, with no small amount of triumph, the slightest twitch in the boy's cheek that let on how much the handshake was starting to hurt. He relented and let go of Krillin's hand.

"I never thought I'd see you so soon, and away from the temple no less." Kou said, completely oblivious to the little battle that had just occurred. "Did they finally recognize you and send you out on a training journey?"

"Um...not quite." said Krillin, squirming a bit under his cloak. "I..sorta left the temple a few months ago. But I still study martial arts and I have a new teacher." he said quickly as she began to look crestfallen and Hou began to smirk.

"Really? That was the man who went to talk to Dad?" she asked.

"Yeah. He's helping me finish the Orinji training as well as teaching me his own style."

"That's great! I just wish they had done something about those bullies before you had to leave."

"Well, I didn't need their help in the end. I took care of the four of them myself." Krillin said proudly. "I couldn't have done it without you, though."

"Me? What did I do?" she asked, blushing slightly.

"You told me to fight and you believed in me. That's all I needed."

Hou snorted. "Man, you two are going to make me hurl, seriously. Anyway, what I really want to know is what you did with our stuff."

"Huh? Oh, that stuff. I took it." Krillin said simply.

"I know that, but how did you do it? Our father has trained us very well. There's no way you should've been able to swipe anything without me knowing." Krillin did not like the challenging look that Hou was giving him.

"I..."

"Hou, where are your manners?" said a familiar male voice. Krillin looked up to see Kou's father standing directly behind Hou. "Is this how we treat someone who has aided us? By challenging them and rudely asking them to reveal the secrets of their martial arts? You should show more respect."

Hou looked shocked and humbled. He bowed to Krillin and mumbled an apology, though Krillin could see he was angry that his father had chastised him. Hou sauntered off to the side.

"Hello Krillin, we meet again." said Houou, shaking Krillin's hand. "Thanks to you and your master, my bad judgement didn't get my children into trouble. I am in your debt."

Again, Krillin flushed with embarrassment. "Um...it was nothing really. Actually, it was good practice."

"I'm glad to see that you left Orinji behind and found a real teacher. And no less than the Prince of Thieves." the man said. "Though I am slightly disappointed...there is a great bounty for Steelin Hood which my honor won't allow me to collect now."

Steelin laughed jovially at this as he, too, entered the alley. "I'm sure that would have been quite a battle. Imagine that, Iron Man kenpo versus the Thief's Fist. I think people would pay to see that." He turned to his pupil. "Well done, my young apprentice. You handled that even better than I expected. I saw some areas for improvement, of course, but we'll work on those later."

"Hey mister." Hou said, tapping Steelin on the shoulder. "Are you really Steelin Hood?"

"The one and only."

"Wow...they say you can steal anything." Hou said, quite impressed. "I guess that explains why Krillin could do what he did."

"May I suggest that we go enjoy the fruits of our labor? I'm sure the children are starving." said Steelin.

"We have a room at the hotel. We can eat there." replied the other man.

As they walked towards the hotel, Kou took Krillin by the arm. "Is he really Steelin Hood?" she asked, quietly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, it's just..." she said, hesitantly. "I just thought he'd be taller."

Much later, Krillin was snoring away on a futon that was, for a change, not exposed to the elements. Houou had offered to put them up for the night, especially since neither of them had any money. Krillin had gotten a real kick out of showing off his new abilities. He amazed everyone by slowly tapering off the energy that he was spreading from his body to his cloak. This gave the impression that the items were materializing, though he knew that what was really happening was that he was allowing them to see what was really there. Steelin had looked slightly disapproving but also almost as surprised as everyone else. Needless to say, Krillin was asked many times to demonstrate the technique that evening. After a silent meal and hours of catching up and getting to know each other, everyone had finally gone to sleep.

Their peaceful slumber was soon interrupted, however. The small room's door burst in off its hinges and people streamed in. Everyone in the room hopped up as soon as the first man had entered the room, ready for an attack. Krillin and Hou, seeing the men running into the room, automatically moved to intercept and attack them. They were halted by the older men.

"Krillin, stand down." said Kou quickly.

"Hou, be still." Houou said to his son.

"But we can take them!" the boys exclaimed, almost in unison.

"Do as I say, Krillin." Steelin said calmly. Houou only glared at his son.

The boys stopped, though they did not stop glaring at the intruders or release their ready stances. Krillin glanced back at Kou, who looked worried but prepared. Hou and Steelin looked wary but relaxed. Soon, they were surrounded by men wearing Deputy badges, each with a pistol pointed at the group. A short man dressed like a stereotypical cowboy walked into the room. Krillin could see a Sheriff badge on his shirt.

"Good evenin' gentlemen, lil' lady." he drawled. "I'm Sheriff Dewey. I understand ya'll have been stealing in our market. We don't take kindly to that 'round these parts."

No one said anything. Krillin felt his stomach muscles knot up, but he did not look away when the sheriff looked him in the eye.

"And I'll be a hog's third cousin, twice removed, if you, sir, ain't Steelin Hood. It says here," the man held up a wanted poster with Steelin's face on it. "that there's a ten thousand zeni reward for your capture."

"They're short-changing me again, I see." Steelin replied with mock indignation.

"Could be, son, could be!" Dewey said, laughing. "But that's not what I came here for. I came to make you fellas a proposition, and a damn good one too. You see, we've been having a bit of an...animal problem, lately. A gang of 'em have been running around here, terrorizing our village. We ain't had a good time dealing with them but, then again, we ain't had any strong fighters like yourselves on our side. So I figured, 'Hey, why not get them to go out and fight them animals?'"

"I'm sorry, sheriff, but you seem to have us confused with mercenaries. We are martial artists." said Houou.

"And thieves and wanted criminals. Of course, if ya'll helped us, we'd be willing to forget all about that. Think of it as paying your debt to society."

Steelin laughed mirthlessly. "Well, Dewey, you do drive a hard bargain and, with those terms, I don't see how I could refuse."

"I agree." Houou said, rather tightly.

"See, I knew you boys would be reasonable. I want you to stop by my office tomorrow morning to get the details." He waved his hand and the deputies began backing out of the room. "Oh, and one more thing. It's not that I don't trust you, but I'll be expecting ya'll back here at sundown the day after tomorrow with those animals in tow. If you don't make it back, or those animals ain't with you...well, I leave that to your imagination. Good night."

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes

Wow, it's been nearly two years since I updated this story. That's crazy, really. I lost interest as soon as I realized that I would need to write training sequences. Those things are ridiculously boring to read, so you can imagine how bad it is to write them. Besides that, I was also growing out of DBZ fixation at the time and my interest in fan fiction waned at the time. I spent enough time writing odd bits of fan fiction here and there (never released) that I figured I may as well write some original stuff and see if I can make anything good out of it. Thus, most of my writing energy as of late has been on a few original stories. However, I recently began plowing through Dragon Ball (which I'd only seen 13 episodes of before starting this fic) and I realized that I wanted to keep this thing going, especially as my knowledge of the DB storyline has increased.

I say all of that as a sort of apology to anyone who read the first parts and still check back from time to time hoping that this thing would keep going. I have about 7 or 8 chapters planned covering what Krillin was up to the year prior to arriving at Kame House and I assure you it's interesting stuff. I can categorically confirm that these chapters will contain: Red Ribbon soldiers, a medieval kingdom, gladiator combat, the truth about Krillin's parents and siblings, and a ki technique that will be unique to Krillin throughout the rest of the Dragon Ball story arc. I can also say that Dragon Ball purists will probably despise the way I take the story, but people who wished that there was someone who would actually strive and almost keep pace with Goku's advancement through the series will be happy with what I'm doing.

I won't promise regular updates. I'll just say that, as long as this story continues to interest me, I'll continue to write it. That's probably the best deal you can get with fan fiction, right?

Sorry for making you read this long (and possibly boring) AN section


	7. Animal Rage! Imperfect Utopia

Disclaimer: Dragonball is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama and Toei and licensed to FUNImation. I had nothing to do with it's creation; if I had, you wouldn't be reading this. Anyway, all non-Toriyama characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so FUNI, if you're reading, please leave your lawyers to people who are actually infringing your copyrights for profit. 

And now, our feature presentation...

Heart of a Warrior

Chapter 4 – Animal Rage! Imperfect Utopia.

Both Steelin and Houou looked rather grim as the last of Dewey's men closed the door on his way out of the hotel room. "I'm sorry we had to get you two involved in this." Houou said to Steelin.

"Not at all. As a matter of fact, I should be the one apologizing. I usually keep a low profile in cities for this very reason and it was careless of me to not do so here." Steelin replied. "I suppose all we can do now is wait till the morning and see what this sheriff has to say."

"What!" asked Hou incredulously. "You mean we're actually going to go through with it?"

"Unfortunately, yes." replied Steelin.

"But why, sensei?" asked Krillin. He was still smarting a bit from being chastised earlier. "Tell me you're not afraid of them!"

"Of course not!" Steelin said, looking sharply at his student.

"Then why didn't we fight them when they rushed in here?"

"Simple." answered Houou. "We did not want to endanger you three."

"But we can take care of ourselves." said Kou before the boys could respond defensively. Her voice held a decidedly neutral tone that clearly indicated she wanted no part of the brewing argument.

"Yeah, and there were only ten of them anyway!" said Hou angrily.

"Yes...and twenty in the lobby and another thirty on the street. Maybe your father and I could have handled that, but with you three it would have been difficult to escape without one of you coming to harm. Not that either of you boys stopped to think of that when you jumped at the chance to fight." Steelin looked at Hou and Krillin very sternly before continuing. "Besides that, I did not think it would be good for your futures if you all gained the same notoriety that I have, and for something so minor as petty theft. But, again, it is obvious that this train of thought did not enter either of your minds."

"I am disappointed in you both. " said Houou sternly. "Martial artists don't go looking for a fight, we avoid fighting unless it is necessary. You both need to learn patience."

Krillin could not look either of the men in the eyes. He had not really thought of that, or anything at all besides fighting, when he had moved to engage the intruders earlier. Now, in retrospect, he could see that they were right; the men had all carried guns and, despite his training, he had not yet learned to move fast enough to dodge bullets. He had known that at the time but it did not deter him at all, a thought which made him shudder. He looked at Hou, who was also looking chastised but defiant.

"I hope the three of you learn this lesson because it's not one that is at all pleasant to learn from experience. Tomorrow, you can not afford to be impatient or to not think your actions through. "said Steelin as he looked from Krillin to Hou to Kou. "Back to bed with you then. We start early tomorrow and you'll need the rest."

Reluctantly, the three returned to their futons. The two men left them in the room to stand on the balcony and talk quietly to one another. Likewise, the three children also talked quietly amongst themselves.

"Hey guys, what do you think?" whispered Krillin.

"We could've taken those guys and got away easy." Hou said, obviously still pouting about being told off.

"Not that, the job tomorrow."

"We barely know what it is." replied Kou, stifling a yawn. "Not much to think about."

"Maybe..." said Krillin. Something was gnawing at the back of his mind, something that had bothered him since the first time he had stepped into Utopia Village."I dunno, something is weird about this place, I just can't think of what."

"We just gotta catch some animals, right? Don't sound too hard to me." said Hou, sounding quite uninterested. "I mean, how hard can it be? They never heard of traps?"

"Maybe they're really smart animals?" Kou responded.

"Feh, if they're so smart, they should just ask them to-"

"Hey! That's it!" Krillin whispered suddenly. "I knew this village was weird. I've been here before today and I still haven't seen one Animal."

"Dummy, there are animals all over this place." said Hou

"You're the dummy, Hou. He means Uprights." said Kou, sounding like she was sticking her tongue out at her brother.

Bipedal, humanoid animals, or Uprights as they were commonly called, were not unusual on Earth. They were different from other animals because they talked, walked, and acted like normal humans, a fact that they took no small amount of pride in. Krillin had even had a raven, a rabbit, and two dogs as classmates at the Orinji temple. He had once heard in a class that Uprights were up to twelve percent of the population in some areas. Yet there were none in this village.

"Oh...you're right, I haven't seen any either." said Hou. "But why would the sheriff call them animals when they're people? That's a horrible thing to call an Upright."

"I don't know. Maybe he really meant regular animals." Krillin paused to think, but it did not make any more sense. Somehow he felt that the lack of Upright people in the village was important but, until he learned more, he could only speculate. "I guess we'll find out in the morning."

"Shhh, they're coming back inside." Kou hissed quickly before letting out faint snores. Her brother and Krillin followed suit, though less convincingly. Krillin did not think it would be possible to sleep with all of the recent developments but, within two minutes, he had drifted off to sleep.

The next day arrived far too quickly for Krillin, It seemed like he had only just closed his eyes when Steelin shook him awake. "Let's get a move on." his teacher said before moving on to Hou and Kou.

Yawning widely, Krillin sat up and rubbed his eyes before stretching. Outside, the sun was just dawning, bathing the room in soft red-orange light. Hou and Kou were just as bleary-eyed as he was, though he could tell they were a lot more tired than he felt. Obviously they were not morning people.

He hopped up and stretched once more before rolling up his futon and stuffing it into his backpack. Trying to ignore the gurgle of his empty stomach, he walked out onto the small balcony and began his morning warm up (consisting of two minutes of squat-thrust-push ups, two minutes of rolling dolphin-kick-handstand presses, and two minutes of nunchaku practice).

"Krillin, we're heading out." Steelin said, poking his head out the door.

"I'll meet you down there in a minute, sensei." Krillin said, the nunchaku whirling so fast that it slightly distorted his voice. The minute passed and Krillin slowly stopped his kata, his breathing deep but steady, a slight sheen of sweat showing on his forehead. He replaced the two pair of nunchaku in his bag, hefted it onto his back, and fastened his cloak around his neck. But instead of heading for the hallway, he turned back around and stepped onto the balcony. He looked down six stories and saw everyone waiting for him down on the street in front of the hotel. Smirking to himself, he flipped over the railing.

It was a short distance to fall but Krillin, feeling a bit ostentatious, managed to do several flips while still managing to guide himself to land right in front of the group. He emerged from his last rotation and landed, with a slight thud, in a rather unnecessarily flourishing kneel. Below his feet, the pavement buckled and cracked slightly.

"I was wondering where you'd gotten to." Steelin said, looking completely unimpressed by the maneuver. Hou and Kou looked dumbstruck, their mouths open. "Was something wrong with the stairs?"

Reddening slightly, Krillin shook his head. Houou looked somewhat impressed by his feat but said nothing. "Very well, off to Sheriff Dewey's we go. And Krillin, can I have a word?" Steelin said, holding Krillin back as the others went ahead. "I understand that these are your friends and you'd like to impress them with what you've learned, but that was a silly stunt to pull. Even though you're trying to hide it, I can tell you hurt your right knee and left foot on that fall. Is it really worth it if you put yourself out of action? Please exercise better judgment in the future."

They walked on a few more moments before Steelin lost the stern look and smiled at his protegé. "Between you and me, though, that was really pretty cool."

Krillin grinned despite himself.

The sun, now fully risen, cast the group's shadow ahead of them as they made their way down towards the sheriff's office, which was in the a wooden, three storey building on Utopia Village's main street. Many of the villagers cast interested, suspicious, and skeptical looks at them as they went about their business, but they made a wide path for the five outsiders as they passed. Krillin did not pay them any attention; instead, he was keeping a sharp eye out for any Uprights. As they entered the sheriff's office, having seen nothing but humans, Krillin felt both convinced that his guess seemed correct and wary of how it would affect the job they were taking.

"No Uprights." Hou said in a hushed voice. He wore an oddly grim expression, as if he expected nothing but trouble ahead.

"You were right, Krillin." Kou whispered. He noticed that she was standing very close, a fact that made his stomach feel very fluttery. "What does that mean?"

They could not speculate any further because they had been led into the actual office of Sheriff Dewey. He sat behind a big wooden desk whose surface was in immaculate order. Around the walls were various plaques and diplomas and the far right wall was seemingly papered with wanted notices. Almost all of them, Krillin noticed, were of Uprights.

Dewey smiled and beckoned them into the office garrulously. "Come on in, plenty of room! I reckoned I might see y'all in here early. Didn't take y'all to be the type to run out on a deal."

"Of course, we wouldn't have dreamed of leaving, what with the hospitality of the twenty men you had keep us company." said Steelin, matching the sheriff's faux-friendly attitude.

"Just a little insurance, you understand."

"Can we get on with this?" Houou said, sounding annoyed. "The day is short."

The sheriff eyed him warily. "I never did catch your name, boy." he said, the friendly tone gone from his voice.

"My name is Houou. The sooner you give us the information the faster we solve your little problem." replied Houou icily, with emphasis on the word 'little'.

An ugly look flashed over Dewey's face for the briefest moment before he resumed his friendly air. He got up and walked over to a filing cabinet, in which he searched for a few moments before pulling out a thick manila envelope. It was so stuffed that it was bound with a big rubber band, which he now took off. He drew a several photos from the file and spread them out on his desk before sitting back down. "These are the animals you're looking for. There are more, but these are the ring-leaders. You find them, you'll find the rest of the animals."

Krillin looked over the pictures, feeling vindicated but sickened. The people in the pictures were, indeed, Uprights; a bear, a tiger, a rat, two dogs, and a large owl. They were clothed normally and did not look dangerous at all. They seemed to be normal people, but the sheriff spoke of them as if they were common trash. He looked at the others to see what they thought and saw that, like himself, Kou and Hou looked shocked and uncomfortable. Houou and Steelin, however, wore passive, stony expressions on their faces.

"I see." said Steelin, after studying the photos for a minute. His voice sounded odd, as if he were fighting to keep it in check. "And when was the last time you saw them?"

"They came through a few days ago, tearing the place up."

"Any idea of where they might have headed?" asked Houou, his voice also oddly restrained.

"That is one thing we don't know. They could be anywhere around here. The town is surrounded by woods. Those animals could be anywhere in there." Dewey replied.

"And you expect the five of us to find them in two days?" Kou asked with no small amount of disbelief. "Are you kidding? That's not possible!"

"Young lady, I don't care if you've got to search every mile between here and the next town. By tomorrow night, those animals had better be right here, in this office, or every police outfit and bounty hunter in the region will be after you."

Hou could not contain himself any longer and lunged at the sheriff. Krillin could only just hold the boy in a half nelson. "You dirty, racist son of a-"

"HOU! Control yourself!" his father said sharply. The boy stopped struggling against Krillin's grip and shook him off.

"I'll be outside whenever you guys are ready to go." he said gruffly, pushing past them and out of the office.

Dewey watched him go with no small amount of amusement. "That temper of his is going to get him in trouble one day." he said

"Sheriff, is there anything else you wish to tell us? We really must be going otherwise." Steelin said.

"Yeah, one last thing." Again, Dewey dropped his affable manner and became deadly serious. "I'm giving you a free reign, but I'll be keeping a close eye on you. Don't even think about trying to run away."

Steelin raised his eyebrow, seeming more amused by the threat than frightened. "If that's all, we'll be off. You can expect us back here tomorrow evening at sundown, as scheduled."

"I'll be waiting." the man replied, not getting up as the four of them exited the office.

"Not a word until we're out of town." Steelin said, cutting off Krillin, who looked as if he wanted to say something.

Hou fell in step with them when they exited the building. He cast a resentful look back at the sheriff's men that were standing on the sidewalk but stayed silent. The villagers were, once again, staring at them but none of them dared to accost the group. In five minutes they had exited the town and were at the main road that ran past the village.

"Any idea where to start?" Hou said to Steelin.

"Well, we can rule out going west of the village. Krillin and I were out that way for several months and never saw another soul." Steelin replied

"Wait, we're still going through with this?" Hou asked, astonished.

"Yes, Hou." his father replied patiently.

"Steelin, Houou, that sheriff...the whole town is against Uprights. Why are we helping them?" Krillin asked.

Steelin sighed and looked at the three children. "We've gone over this already. We've already agreed to do this job and this sheriff isn't making it easy for us to leave even if we wanted to. Whether we agree with them or not, we have to do this job."

"Besides that," Houou added. "I'd also like to know why there are no Uprights in that town. I think we'll get the truth if we find them and ask them."

"If we can find them at all." said Kou skeptically.

"True enough. We have a lot of land to cover in the next thirty-six hours." Steelin said, taking the lead as they walked up the road. He nodded at Krillin and, on that signal, the boy tipped forward and began walking on his hands. Houou did not bat an eye at this but his children were dumbstruck.

"What are you doing that for Krillin?" asked Kou, who seemed impressed that he was keeping pace with them quite easily.

"Well, I'm still in training, even if we have this mission. I'm just doing some traveling exercises since we can't have a regular training session today." he responded.

Hou, meanwhile, was not so impressed. "That training doesn't seem too hard, Kou. Look, I'll show you."

And the boy flipped onto his hands as well. Krillin was somewhat surprised to see that Hou was also able to keep pace but, after remembering how strong the boy had been when he had tried to restrain him, the surprise wore off. Not to be left out, Kou also flipped onto her hands and, like her brother, she was able to keep pace. The two men looked at the children and shared a grin but did not comment.

"Sensei, we still don't know where to look though." remarked Krillin, his voice even despite his exertions. "Even if we rule out going west, we'll still just be guessing about the other directions."

"Not exactly. I seem to have stumbled upon a bit more information..." As he spoke, Steelin pulled a thick manila envelope from within his cloak, the same envelope that had been on the sheriff's desk. Krillin was not surprised; while restraining Hou, he had thought he had seen a few lighting fast movements out of the corner of his eye. The other three, however, were astonished, though Houou was doing a much better job of concealing his awe. Hou and Kou had flipped back onto their feet and were gaping at Steelin, their eyes moving from the envelope to his face and back again.

"How...?" gasped Kou.

"When...?" said Hou.

Steelin chuckled at them. "I thought I would relieve the good sheriff of this while you were were struggling to get to him."

"Of course..." Houou said, more to himself than to anyone else, while he stroked his chin.

"I didn't really need the diversion but, all the same, I imagined that the rest of what he wasn't telling us would be in this file."

"I think," said Houou, looking around warily, "that we should put some distance between ourselves and the village before we look at that."

"An excellent idea. What do you say, five miles?" asked Steelin. Houou nodded. "It'll be a quick run."

Houou and Steelin took off down the road at a blistering pace, leaving the children behind. Krillin, still on his hands, was about to follow when he felt Kou tugging at his pant cuffs.

"You're not going on your hands, are you?"

"Yeah, why?" he replied.

"Oh, come on, you can't keep that pace on your hands." scoffed Hou.

"Maybe you can't but I can." Krillin replied, a challenging tone in his voice.

"What? You just watch then." Hou said, flipping onto his hands again. "I'm gonna smoke you so badly." And with no further ado, he took off after his father.

Krillin laughed for a moment before looking at Kou. "Joining us?"

"I don't think so." She said, clearly amused by the game of one-upsmanship that was going on between Krillin and her brother. "Shouldn't you get going?"

"I'm not worried...oh crap!" he exclaimed. A glance down the road showed Hou much farther ahead than Krillin had expected. He shot off without another word, Kou hot on his trail.

Krillin had to grudgingly admit that Hou was fairly strong and was making good time, though the boy obviously was not used to the exercise. His strides were disjointed and caused him to expend more energy than necessary. Krillin did not take too long to ponder this, instead focusing on his own strides, which were as efficient as an ostrich's. The distance between them was rapidly disappearing; fifty meters, thirty meters, ten meters. He could see Steelin and Houou running a good mile ahead as he passed Hou. He looked over at his opponent to taunt him but, instead of a tired or surprised expression, he saw a determined look pass over the boy's face before a burst of speed made him pull ahead.

"He's still got some energy." Krillin thought, a small smirk forming on his lips. "Interesting."

As Kou also passed him, Krillin, who had yet to really break a sweat, let himself loose. In ten seconds he had overtaken Kou. Again, the gap closed between himself and Hou, only this time Hou saw him coming and began pushing even harder. Hard as the boy tried, however, Krillin simply exceeded the increase in speed.

Ahead, Houou and Steelin had finally stopped, waiting for the children to arrive. Looking back at his opponent, Krillin threw him an infuriating smirk before pulling away with long, strong strides. A half minute later he arrived at the stopping point, flipping himself onto his feet and skidding five feet to a halt, his cloak fluttering in the draft that his sudden stop had caused. Turning around, he saw Kou also slide to a halt, followed by Hou, who tumbled onto his back, gulping for air and sweating profusely.

Krillin struggled to keep from celebrating his victory while Houou walked over to his son, looked down, and said: "I think you've found that stronger person I'm always telling you about."

Five minutes later, after Hou had gotten his breath back, the five of them were sitting in a circle, reading the contents of the manila envelope. It was full of reports filed by the sheriff and his deputies against the Uprights (which were referred to as animals), complete with pictures and notes.

"Hmm...'Non-compliance with City Ordinance 1027B'...'Violation of City Statute 65'...'Disorderly Conduct'...'Unlawful Congregation'." Houou read out loud from one of the sheets, those for dogs Piter and Sae Hound, in front of him. 'It goes on with more of that for a while on these two."

"Same here. They even kept track of accusations. Looks like they were being charged with vandalism, burglary, and sedition." Steelin said, frowning at the long rap sheet for the bear Bjorn Byrnison.

"What's sedition?" asked Krillin, looking over the bear's sheet.

"It means that they were accused of trying to start a rebellion." said Houou. "It also looks like they've been making raids on the town pretty regularly"

"So...so they really are criminals?" Kou asked uncertainly as she, too, perused an extensive rap sheet, this one for Artemis Faulk, the owl.

"Not necessarily." replied Steelin, flipping through more sheets. "The dates on these charges are all very close together. That's very suspicious."

"So you're saying they're innocent?" asked Hou.

"I think Steelin is saying that we shouldn't totally trust these files." said Houou. He straightened his papers and handed them back to the other man. "I think we'll get to the bottom of this whenever we catch up with them."

"Agreed." Steelin gathered up the rest of the papers and placed them back into the manila envelope, then placed it into his cloak. "We still have to worry about searching though. I'm not sure if we can cover enough area, assuming that they're even anywhere nearby."

"Well, they've got to be nearby, right? Why would the sheriff have us waste two days searching if he didn't think so?" said Kou.

"That is a fair point." Houou noted with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Assuming that is so, we still must decide-"

"What if we split up?" Hou interjected, cutting Steelin off. Before the men could object, he sped on through his idea. "I mean, there are three directions we can go in, we could split into three groups. Besides, they probably won't be dangerous."

"You don't know that Hou." said his father, but he looked approvingly at his son nonetheless. "He has a point. We can cover more ground this way."

"And," Krillin chimed in, "I think that, together, Kou and Hou and I might be able to handle ourselves as one of you." He could see that Steelin was not totally convinced. "Come on Steelin, I was traveling alone before I met you, and these two are plenty strong."

Steelin sighed, seeing that he was outnumbered. "Oh, very well, but on two conditions, which I think Houou will agree with me on." he said. "First, if you all find them, you are not to engage them for any reason. Second, I want you, Krillin, to be in charge."

-----

Hours later, Hou was still fuming. "Why do you get to be in charge anyway?" he groused. "What's so great about you?"

The group had split up, Steelin going north and Hou, Krillin, and Kou going east. Houou had chosen to go south and promised to "clean up" their trail, which Krillin understood to mean that he would get rid of the sheriff's men that had finally managed to catch up to them. The forest was, indeed, very dense, but there were a fair number of trails. Steelin also informed them that the next town was over fifty miles away, so it was very likely that the raids were for supplies and that the Uprights' base would not be too far away from the town. This encouraged the children early on but, half a day later, they were not so optimistic.

"Hou, stop it already." Kou said, sounding very exasperated. "Just get over it. Dad said to listen to Krillin and that's that."

"That traitor. How could he favor this runt-" Hou was cut off when he found himself roughly slammed against a tree, held a few inches off the ground by Krillin, who looked furious.

"Maybe, just maybe the fact that I've actually been out on my own, without any help, is the reason. Or maybe it's because I'm stronger than you..." Krillin hissed as he held Hou fast against the tree.

"Let me go." Hou said in a calm, warning voice. He pulled at Krillin's hands but they would not budge.

"And don't you ever call me runt again." Krillin said, ignoring the boy.

"Krillin, let him go!" Kou pleaded. Krillin relaxed his grip and Hou dropped to the ground. "Really, what's wrong with you two? You've been sniping at each other since you met!"

"You mean he's been sniping at me." Krillin said sourly.

"Yeah, well at least I haven't been showing off." Hou threw back.

"Hey, you started it with that stupid race!"

"That's not what I'm talking about..."

"Enough already! You're both being stupid." Kou said, and this time her voice was strong and commanding. Both boys turned to look at her warily. "We have a job to do and you're both wasting our time. We have to work together, so just get over whatever is your problem! Unless you want me to tell Steelin and Dad. I'm sure they'll really trust us in the future after hearing all about you guys fighting."

Krillin immediately lost his desire to argue and Hou looked at his sister as if to say "You wouldn't!". They walked on in silence.

Several more hours later, they called Steelin and Hou using the satellite phone they had been given, informing the adults that they, also, had seen no signs of their quarry. The sun was setting, casting a dusky orange glow over the forest. They were sitting in a small clearing, eating a snack while Krillin talked to Steelin.

"So do we head back to the town?" Krillin asked him.

"No, I don't think they'll be very friendly after what Houou did." replied Steelin. "You three stay where you are and we'll come to you. The phone is also a GPS device, so we can pinpoint your location."

"Ok, we'll see you in a bit." Krillin said before closing the phone. "I guess we'll be camping out tonight then."

The three of them went about setting out their futons in the clearing. Hou was still not speaking to them, so Kou and Krillin made small talk as they laid their things out. In the distance they could hear thunder rumbling. "Sounds like rain...great." Krillin said. Hou looked in the direction of the thunder and cocked his head to the side, concentrating as if trying to hear something very low and quiet.

"What is it, Hou?" Kou asked, but he waved at her to be quiet and continued to listen intently.

"That's no thunder." he said quietly. "It sounds like motors, headed this way."

They listened as the rumbling grew steadily closer. "It could just be some travelers." Kou said hopefully, though the expression on her face showed that she did not believe it to be true.

"Or it could be Dewey's men, or the Uprights." Krillin countered. "Either way, we don't want to be seen by whoever it is. Let's get our stuff and hide in one of these trees. And let's be quiet about it, alright?"

Hou did not object to this order and, in moments, they had stuffed their futons back into their packs and jumped into a tree with dense foliage that was removed from the clearing by fifteen yards. By this time, the rumbling was almost upon them and, from the noise, it was clear that there were quite a few vehicles headed their way. Krillin tied his pack to an upper branch and carefully lowered himself to a bottom branch, where he would have a better view of the clearing. After following suit, Hou and Kou joined him near the bottom of the tree.

Below, the rumbling motors were revealed to be motor bikes, rugged off-roading types that would be perfect for cruising through the forest. The bikes slowly drove beneath the tree, eventually coming to a halt on the edges of the clearing. In all, he counted more than thirty bikes, each of which seated two people. Though each of the riders wore helmets, Krillin could tell that these were the people they were looking for; every one of the people who dismounted from the bikes were Uprights.

"We found them!" Kou whispered excitedly as she squeezed Krillin's arm.

"Kou, be quiet!" Hou hissed. He was straining to hear what the people in the clearing were saying. "I can't hear a word with you talking so loudly."

"I was not talking loud!" she whispered back furiously.

Krillin tried to ignore this to hear what the group was saying but realized, rather belatedly, that they had picked a tree that was just barely out of earshot. "Damn, I cant hear a thing." Hou whispered. "I'm gonna see if I can get closer."

"Are you crazy? Steelin and your dad told us to sit tight if we found them." Krillin whispered back at him.

"I'm not going to bother them, I just want to see what they're talking about. Besides," Hou's voice took on a challenging tone, "what're you gonna do to stop me?"

Krillin fumed as the boy dropped silently from the tree and crept closer to the clearing. "Aren't we going after him?" Kou asked timidly.

"No." he replied resolutely.

"But what if something happens?" she asked with alarm.

"He's on his own."

Ahead, Hou crept nearer to the clearing. Night had fallen and in the clearing the flickering light of a large fire mixed with the steady glow of electric lamps. Apparently the Uprights had the same idea as they had and were camping out in the clearing. Despite their boisterous, loud talking, Krillin still could not distinguish anything useful and he secretly wished he had thought of sneaking nearer himself.

Suddenly, there was a cry from the camp, as of someone sounding an alarm, and everyone in the clearing quieted down slightly. Krillin could hear the sounds of a scuffle before he heard Hou cry out angrily. "Let me go!"

Krillin became rigid with attention, his eyes boring through the leaves to see what was happening. From the clearing, the sounds of astonishment turned to ones of anger and anticipation. Kou had gripped his arm tightly, horrified that her brother had been captured. "Krillin, we have to do something!" she whispered anxiously.

Krillin shook his head, not looking at her. "They haven't done anything to him...we should wait and maybe your father and Steelin will be back." In truth, he secretly thought that Hou was reaping the rewards of ignoring his command. "Don't worry, he can handle himself, right?"

In the clearing, they had become silent except for one person, who was speaking loudly enough for Krillin to understand. "...the humans in that damned village have even taken to sending spies!" the person (Krillin could not tell if they were male or female) cried out angrily. "And a boy, no less! As if we're worth no more!"

Angry yells and affirmations rang out as the person paused. "They wouldn't let us live there, now they won't let us live out here! Well I say we teach them a lesson! We show them no mercy, like we show their spy no mercy!" A great, savage cry erupted from in the crowd and Krillin could hear the pounding of a hundred feet. He couldn't sit by and let Hou be torn to shreds by an angry mob.

"Kou, call your dad and Steelin and tell them to hurry!" He jumped from the tree to the next, ran along the branches and jumped clear of it into the clearing, As he descended he could see Hou fighting off the horde, rather inexpertly, in Krillin's opinion. There was no doubt that the boy was quite strong, however, as he tossed and kicked people over the heads of the advancing Uprights. From within his cloak, Krillin extracted his two pair of nunchaku, which he twirled so fast that the people below him heard the sound and looked up. "I'd better not go full strength." he thought the split second before he landed in the thick of things.

Krillin popped two wolves on the head who were trying to attack Hou from behind and they crumpled immediately, unconscious. He ducked a back kick from Hou that was aimed at those two and the boy, wondering why he had hit nothing, glanced back to see Krillin lashing out with a vicious footsweep that toppled five attackers. In the next move, while they were still airborne, he jumped and kicked them all away with a flying roundhouse kick. Krillin landed and ran forward, his weapons parrying those of the attackers who, now facing two incredibly strong boys, had become even more serious.

Having faced multiple attackers almost exclusively for several years, Krillin knew well enough to conserve energy; though his opponents were far weaker, there were far more of them, not to mention the fact that Hou was clearly going to tire himself. He dispatched several more Uprights, making sure to pull his blows so that they were knocked out but not seriously hurt. He glanced over his shoulder and was horrified to see that Hou had tripped and fallen hard on his back, his legs held by a burly tiger. Acting quickly, Krillin dashed forward, his shoulder low, bowling people over in his haste to get to his downed comrade. In seconds he had reached Hou, cleared the attackers with swift sweeps of his weapons, and pulled Hou away before the Uprights dog-piled where they had just barely vacated.

The escape was temporary but it had served its purpose. Hou was back on his feet and fighting more angrily than before. Krillin was more surprised, however, by the loud, angry cry and subsequent explosion of bodies from the dog-pile that had just formed. Looking up, he saw Kou emerge above the fray, her eyes flashing dangerously with anger. He left Hou to his own devices and took to the air as well, landing right next to her.

"Kou!" he said, ducking an elbow from her. "Your brother is fine, so calm down! We shouldn't be fighting them full strength!"

They fought back to back, the attackers seeming to never tire. Krillin now began to see the error of his ways; the ones he had knocked out earlier had returned and with a vengeance. Hou had now fought his way over to them and they all were back to back, fending off the attackers. Though he was not tiring, he could see that the strain was wearing on his friends. How long would it be before Houou and Steelin found them?

Not very long, as it turned out. Everyone stopped fighting and looked skyward as a brilliant yellow sphere soared upwards and burst above the clearing with a deafening "crack!". The next second everyone was flattened to the ground by a gigantic wave of air that made the trees sway as if they were in a storm and blew out the large fire. Krillin was the first to his feet, followed by Kou and Hou. Everyone else was too stunned to rise. He turned towards a noise at the edge of the clearing and saw Houou and Steelin step into the light of the electric lamps. He did not need that light, however, to know that they were both angry at their wards.

"Was I not clear when I instructed you not to engage them?" asked Steelin, coldly. "And yet, here we find you three in the center of a brawl. It would have served you right if we had left you to their mercy!"

Houou looked disappointed. "We trusted you boys to be on your own and to not get into trouble. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Both boys inhaled quickly, ready to go into a long defense but Kou beat them to it. "It's my fault, Dad." she said pensively. "I...I wanted to get closer to hear what they were saying. I must've stepped on a stick or they smelled me. Hou and Krillin were only trying to help me, honestly. I didn't mean for this to happen!" And she gave her father a pleading, apologetic look that he could not resist.

"Oh...well, I guess mistakes happen. But that was very stupid of you, Kou! You should have waited for us." he said, though he was considerably less harsh with her. Krillin and Hou looked astonished at this confession before making their faces blank when they noticed Steelin looking at them. Steelin, however, did not question the explanation.

"I think it best if we find the leaders of this group and hope they are the ones we're looking for, though I don't see them being very happy to see us after all this." He scanned the clearing, though it was a clearly a futile gesture with half of the Uprights still on the ground due to the brawl and the explosion. "Eh...right. Well, let's just walk around and ask, shall we?"

Krillin, Hou, and Kou were, understandably, not particularly successful with their queries. The Uprights were now regarding them with angry and fearful looks as, a few minutes before, these three children had been handily beating them. Houou and Steelin, despite not having laid a hand on anyone, did not do any better. "Go away, humans!" one angry black rabbit yelled, from a safe distance away. "We're not telling you anything!"

"Look, we're not here to hurt or harass you." Houou said in a loud, clear voice. "We're here to find out why all the Uprights were run out of Utopia Village."

Silence greeted this proclamation but Krillin could see that it had the desired effect. The angry looks melted away to be replaced by wariness. "I think we would be glad to answer that question..." said a voice from outside the clearing. "if you'll answer, to our satisfaction, why you all have chosen to hunt us down for Dewey."

The following silence was extremely uncomfortable. "I'll take this one if you don't mind, Houou." Steelin said quietly before clearing his throat. "That is a fair question. We ran into a spot of trouble while in town. I have a rather...'notorious' reputation and the sheriff took the opportunity to blackmail us. But," he paused for emphasis, "we realized very quickly that what little he told us about you all was not totally true. So we came to you to hear your side of this story. The unfortunate unpleasantness earlier was merely an accident, a misunderstanding."

At the edge of the clearing, where the voice had originated, the crowd parted and seven Uprights, the very same ones that had been targeted by Dewey, walked into the clearing, led by the owl, Artemis Faulk. He was flanked by the huge Bjorn and Kayla Suk, the tigress, both of whom carried themselves like formidable martial artists. "I believe you, Steelin Hood." Artemis said, waving his hand dismissively at their astonishment. "Yes, I am well aware of who you are as well as your mission. I sometimes find it useful to hang about the village; my heightened sight and hearing, you know."

When they had reached the humans, Artemis turned to the children and bowed slightly. "My apologies for the attack earlier. We are not exactly friendly to humans. The people of Utopia Village have given many of us a bad impression of humankind. However, that is no excuse for attacking unprovoked." He turned back to the adults. "Please, have a seat with me and I'll tell you whatever you wish to know."

They followed him to the middle of the clearing, where the fire was being rekindled, and settled down on folding chairs that were brought forward by a few Uprights. "Now then, you all wish to know why we were run out of the village. The answer is really not that exciting. It is racism, plain and simple.

"Years ago, Utopia Village was much smaller than it is now and most of the people were Uprights. We had never had anything but peace with our human neighbors, though. Then, about four years ago, a large wave of humans from one of the western cities came to our village. Besides a lot of money and technology, they brought their disdain for Uprights with them. Since the outnumbered us, they soon took over and began making 'improvements'.

"Using their new power, they started by fabricating charges against Uprights, making it seem like the village was going downhill because of us. Then they began to pass laws to force us into certain parts of the town and to prevent us from owning property. Then came the laws that controlled our movement. They slowly took our property; anyone who protested was arrested and jailed on trumped up charges, at best. There were...many mobs for some of us that were less fortunate.

"Many of us left, including the humans that had been in the village with us from the beginning. Finally, they passed a law that forbade any Uprights from entering the village. They forcibly removed us all, leaving us with nothing but the clothes on our back. Imagine that, being forced from the very place our parents and grandparents had built.

"Those of us fortunate enough to have family elsewhere left for good. For the rest of us, however, there was no where to go. For several months we lived out here, disorganized, self-pitying, bitter. I was angry at having my home stolen, as were we all. One day our anger turned into action; we waylaid a supply truck heading to the town and scared off the driver. I realized that we had found a way to strike back at our oppressors."

"Of course..." said Hou, stroking his chin. "This village is far from another city and they have no manufacturing, so things are imported pretty often."

"Were imported. Only the bravest humans travel these roads, though they should not worry if they do not plan to visit the village. We only bother those who help that village. In fact, we were busy all day, looking for you all. Dewey wants to break this embargo and, until now, no one strong enough to do it had come along."

"I have a question." Krillin said. "If there are so many people in the village, why does it look so empty?"

"They left, obviously." said Hou. "I mean, wouldn't you if you thought the place was surrounded by dangerous ani-I mean, people who were keeping you from contact with the outside world?"

"Very true." agreed Artemis, who shook his feathers slightly at Hou's near slip. "There is only a small, die hard core of the group that came originally, led by Dewey and the mayor. We easily outnumber them, though we hesitate to storm the place because of their large arsenal and willingness to use it. So we only harass them, hoping they'll take the hint and leave."

Steelin and Houou appeared to be mulling over what Artemis had said, though Krillin could not see what there was to think about. As far as he was concerned, they had been forced into being the tools of the "bad guys" and it was only right that they refuse to go through with the mission. Though they did not voice this opinion, the looks on the faces of Hou and Kou told him that they, too, wanted to abandon the mission and thought that the adults should have figured that out already.

"It appears that we have been working for the wrong side, though I suspected as much, as I'm sure Houou did as well." Steelin said finally. "However, we still have the issue of blackmail over our heads. Dewey expects us back in town with you seven or he'll make trouble for us."

Artemis sighed and smiled ruefully. "It is a devil's choice, your hides or ours. You must do as you see fit and we'll do as we see fit. I had hoped that we could come to amiable terms." he said regretfully while motioning with his right hand. Krillin could sense the movement around them. He prepared himself to fight his way out of the clearing.

"Wait, Mr. Faulk." Hou said, his tone commanding. "I think we can come up with a solution for both our problems, if you will trust us. I have a plan."

-----

The next day, just as the sun was dipping below the western horizon, twelve individuals solemnly marched into Utopia Village. Steelin and Krillin led the group, followed by the seven Uprights, whose hands and feet where bound by shackles, and Houou, Kou, and Hou. Upon seeing them, the villagers greeted them with a combination of cheers, for the humans, and jeer, for the Uprights. The group ignored them, even when they began throwing things at the Uprights. It struck Krillin how much the villagers really hated their captives.

The group came to a halt outside the sheriff's office, where they found Dewey and a cadre of deputies, all of whom were grinning eagerly at the Uprights, waiting for them. "Looks like I was right about you boys." Dewey said approvingly. He looked over the captives and settled his gaze on Artemis Faulk, a look of intense hate on his face. "I told you I'd have you back here, boy."

Artemis threw a serene smile back at him but did not say anything. Steelin cleared his throat to get the sheriff's attention. "As you can see, we have delivered your 'packages' as promised. Do you agree?"

"Yeah." the sheriff replied, looking over the captives with anticipation.

"Very well then, we'll be on our way."

"Not so fast there, son." Dewey said. "I been thinkin'. Since this was so easy for you five, maybe we could use you for something else."

"You thought wrong." cut in Houou, his voice cold.

"Come on, boy, look at your position! All I need to do is make some phone calls..."

"On what phone?" Houou asked.

"Eh...what?"

"What phone will you use?" he asked again. A trace of a smirk was on his face. "The phone lines to this town have been cut and you all have no mobile phones. No mail runs here. In fact, nothing from the outside makes it here thanks to your Upright situation. You're bluffing, Dewey, and we're leaving." He turned around dismissively but stopped short when he heard metallic clicks that told him that several guns were pointed at them all. Houou sighed. "Sheriff, I suggest that you point those elsewhere. We are the least of your problems right now."

As if to qualify this statement, gunfire rang out from the other side of the village and they could hear yelling. "What in the hell..." said Dewey.

"That," Steelin said, "would be the comrades of these seven here. You see, sheriff, after we found them last night, we...shall we say, persuaded them to accompany us here. We may have let slip that we were expected here today at sunset and I suppose they decided to launch a rescue."

Dewey and his men looked horror-stricken. "G-god damn it, why didn't you tell us?" he shouted.

"Because, sheriff, it has nothing to do with us." replied Houou, sounding extremely unconcerned. Around them they could hear the sounds of screaming and yelling and gunfire getting closer. Some of the deputies ran off towards the noise, brandishing their pistols. Soon only Dewey and two of his men remained. Steelin nodded at the children and, on this signal, they began uncuffing the Uprights.

"What the hell are you doing!" Dewey yelled angrily.

"Merely taking our property with us." Steelin said casually, smirking as the sheriff and his deputies flinched at nearby gunfire. He turned to Artemis Faulk and shook his hand. "It has been a pleasure, Artemis."

In that moment, Krillin could see a look of comprehension spread across Dewey's face. Anger swept across his face with blotchy redness as he yelled "Traitors! Shoot 'em!" But they had no more moved their trigger fingers a centimeter before they felt immense pain in their hands. Krillin, Kou, and Hou had all savagely kicked the guns away, simultaneously breaking the bones in the hands that had held them. They fell to the ground, clutching their limp hands and grunting with pain.

"You deserve that," Hou snarled, pulling his leg back to kick Dewey, "you racist-"

"Hou, that's enough." his father said quickly, stopping Hou with a restraining hand on his shoulder. Hou lowered his leg but spit on the prone man.

The shooting and screaming had stopped. All around them, Uprights were emerging from the darkness, all looking very pleased with themselves. "Sir," said a tough looking raccoon to Artemis. "we've gotten all of the deputies. No sign of that arsenal they were talking about."

"As I suspected, it did not exist." Steelin said.

"It is fortunate that you were right." Artemis replied gravely. "And were there any casualties?"

"No sir...they, uh, weren't very good shots."

Krillin could see the deputies being marched towards them. Along the street, people were finally looking out of their homes and businesses and, from the looks on their faces, he could see that they were disgusted and horrified. He did not feel especially sorry for them.

"I think we really shall take our leave now, Artemis." said Steelin.

"Are you sure you cannot stay? You would be most welcome..."

"No, we really must be on our way."

"Ah, very well then." Artemis said genially. Artemis shook Steelin's hand, then turned to each of the others and shook their hand as well. "We thank you all." Artemis said, and he bowed to them as they turned and began to walk away.

"God damn you Steelin Hood!" Dewey yelled out suddenly, his voice filled with rage. "I'll make you pay for this!"

"I'll look forward to it." Steelin called back, waving his hand sardonically in farewell. Houou, Krillin, Hou, and Kou all laughed. The Uprights cheered and waved at them as they walked towards the edge of the village. While they were walking, Hou and Kou fell in step beside Krillin.

"Um...Krillin." said Hou, sounding apologetic. "I...I just wanted to say I'm sorry for, you know, kinda being a jerk. Thanks for helping me out yesterday too. You're really good."

"Don't mention it." said Krillin, grinning at him. "You're not too bad yourself. "

And though they did not say it aloud, they both could tell that, finally, they had become friends. Kou watched the exchange and said, exasperatedly, "It's about time you two stopped acting so stupid. That rivalry business was getting really boring."

"Who said anything about the rivalry ending?" asked Hou indignantly. "That's definitely still on!"

"Yeah, just more, you know, friendly." added Krillin. Kou looked at them both like they were crazy and rolled her eyes at them.

When they had reached the edge of the village they turned right, heading north on the main road. Krillin let Houou and his children walk ahead. He fell in step alongside his teacher and asked something that he had been wondering about for the last day.

"Steelin...what was wrong with them? The Uprights. Why did the humans in the village dislike them?"

Steelin sighed, but he seemed to have been expecting the question. "There was nothing wrong with the Uprights, of course. Everything was wrong with the humans in that village. I wish I could say that that is abnormal, but racism, prejudice, and unfounded hate seem to be things the human race cannot escape. We are not all so extreme but, in our hearts, there is that little seed of fear the breeds prejudice."

Krillin thought about that for a moment. "So we're not any better than Dewey?"

Steelin shook his head, which Krillin could barely see in the half-moon light. "We are better, Krillin, because we choose not to allow these small prejudices to hold sway over our actions. Our prejudice is no more than the manifestation of our fear of the unknown. If we keep our minds open, if we believe in the good in people, and if we expand our knowledge, the basis for our fears diminish, and so should our prejudice."

Krillin pondered what Steelin had said, thinking that he could see a kernel of truth in there. "I don't know if I like the outside world, if this is what people are like." he said, sounding disconsolate.

Ahead of them, Houou had stopped and activated a capsule, which revealed a van. The three of them climbed in, leaving the door open, waiting for Krillin and Steelin.

"Oh, don't write us off yet, Krillin." Steelin said, laughing. He patted Krillin on the shoulder reassuringly. "I dare say you'll find that, for every bad thing you see, there are five good things."

And they climbed into the van, heading north towards the next town and their next adventure.

To Be Continued...

-----

Author's Notes

Wow, only a month since my last update on this story. Pardon me while I pat myself on the back because, between you and me, I had a load of distractions that could've buried this chapter. I actually wrote most of this several weeks ago before gaming and Harry Potter claimed a lot of my time. Incidentally, pardon the Potter-esque writing that very likely creeped into the story; my only defense is that I was reading the books up to the release of the Half Blood Prince. I think it's influence on this chapter was more or less inevitable. You may also notice that this chapter is fairly long; as I said before, I'm done with the half chapter stuff. This is around the length you can expect in a chapter from here on out.

If you're still with me, I'm happy to report that the next chapter will get a lot more action oriented. We'll find out more about Steelin and we'll see some villains that you may be acquainted with. More importantly, Krillin will be in the thick of all the fisticuffs and we'll get to see what "Iron Man kempo" is all about! I'll go out on a limb and say the next chapter will be "t3h h4wtness". Keep checking back (a month from now would probably make the most sense) for the next update.

Sorry for making you read this long (and possibly boring) AN section


	8. The Mysterious Bounty Hunter

**Heart of a Warrior**

**Chapter 5 – The Mysterious Bounty Hunter; Trouble in Nottingham**

Hou looked exhausted. He was breathing heavily and sweat trickled down his face. His fighting stance was very loose and shaky, as if his legs were protesting further movement. He shot a reproachful look at his opponent who, for all of their sparring, looked as if he had barely broken a sweat.

Krillin had turned his back on Hou. Normally this would have been a foolish move, but Krillin was not worried. Hou had yet to lay a finger on him, not that he hadn't tried. As expected, this angered his sparring partner. "Face me, Krillin!" the boy growled.

"Nothing says you can't attack me when my back's turned." replied Krillin almost lazily. "Maybe you can hit me if I can't see you."

"Damn it!" Hou growled angrily as he rushed at Krillin with his fist cocked.

"Hou, stop!" Steelin barked, stopping the boy in his tracks. "We're sparring, not fighting." He was not, however, looking at the boy. His chastising gaze was focused squarely on Krillin, who could feel it boring through his back. "Kou, please take your brother's place."

Krillin barely contained a laugh. "Sensei, come on, that's not fair." he said

"And why," Steelin said, his voice now considerably cooler, "would you say that?"

"Well, she's a girl-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kou demanded, sounding as angry as her brother had.

"Krillin, you will do as I say." Steelin said sharply. "And I am telling you to spar with Kou."

Knowing it would be a waste of time to argue, Krillin shrugged and turned toward Kou, bowing slightly at her while wondering why she had gotten so angry. She looked very dangerous as she bowed to him, her knuckles clenched so tightly that they were white. At a slight nod from Steelin signaling the beginning of the match, she shot at him.

Krillin was immediately surprised at her speed. He had seen her move during their practices the entire week, but this was different; now she seemed to move with a purpose. He recovered himself just as she reached him and nimbly hopped back, easily evading a vicious looking side kick aimed at his chest. Not bothering to lower her leg, she hopped forward and continued to kick at him, faster than he had ever seen any kid kick, faster than even he could kick. Krillin dodged feverishly for a second before realizing that, while she was very fast, she was also very predictable in her strikes. He relaxed a little.

They continued in this fashion for several minutes, Krillin dodging with his arms folded behind his back, Kou kicking at him with increasingly angry vigor. Before long, Kou, just as her brother, finally tired and paused for a breather, looking extremely irritated at Krillin. He returned her gaze, looking as calm as before. He gave his teacher a meaningful look, as if to say "I told you so." Steelin did not look pleased.

"What, exactly, do you not understand about sparring, Krillin?" he said, sounding very irritated.

"Sensei, I don't-"

"Sparring normally involves attacking and defending, yet you are only dodging." Steelin cut him off. "Why is that?"

Krillin spoke very carefully, knowing that he was treading on very thin ice. "Well, no offense to you guys," he waved apologetically at Hou and Kou, "but they really aren't good enough to go one on one with me."

Steelin narrowed his eyes. "So...you think this practice is only for you?" He said it slowly and evenly, but his tone did not hide his displeasure. Krillin realized that he had made a very big mistake. "I don't know where this arrogance came from, whether you've been hiding it from me all this time, but you seem to think it is acceptable. Apparently I must disabuse you of this notion."

Krillin tensed warily, knowing the repercussions of Steelin's chastising but thinking, in the back of his mind, that he would finally get some real practice. Steelin, however, made no move towards him. He instead looked at Hou and Kou, who were looking a bit embarrassed. "Hou, Kou, I understand your father has trained you in the Fuujin and Raijin styles." They nodded. "Very well, would you both be so kind to demonstrate them for Krillin. Or, I should say, on Krillin."

"Um, both of us?" asked Hou uncertainly.

"They are most effective when combined, so yes, the both of you." replied Steelin. Hou looked at his sister, who shrugged, then turned with her to face Krillin. He tried and failed to look like he was taking them seriously. He raised his clenched fists towards Krillin and tensed his legs, which he had spread into a horse stance. His sister, conversely, stood in a forward stance, her arms hanging limp at her side, her eyes narrowed and focused on Krillin. Krillin, meanwhile, did not know what to do but, deciding to err on the side of caution, he shifted his weight into a neutral side stance and tucked his fists on either side of his waist.

Without the slightest warning, they descended on him. Hou attacked from the right, his fists flying at Krillin's face in a blur, while Kou kicked at his legs with that same unbelievable speed. As he feverishly tried to block and dodge their attacks, Krillin realized how bad his situation was. Separately, the siblings were strong but mostly over matched against him; together, they were far better than him alone. Unlike most people who fought cooperatively, they were extremely well coordinated. Gone were the wasted strikes that he could dodge easily; their styles seemed to be keeping him firmly in place as he tried to defend himself. While Hou attacked him with his superior punching speed, Kou attacked with her superior kicking speed.

"Focus!" Krillin thought to himself, knowing that they would wear him down at the rate the fight was going. He calmed himself and allowed his mind to slip into his battle perception. The moves were barely registering, to his astonishment, and his surprise almost earned him a fist to the jaw. As the punch grazed him, his battle perception flashed and he suddenly knew what to do. He pulled Hou by the outstretched arm towards Kou and leaped away from them. At least he tried to, but a kick from Kou made his leg buckle, forcing him to roll away. Kou and Hou followed him and he was forced to keep rolling.

Krillin flipped up onto his feet, but his pursuers were relentless and he found himself balancing on one leg like a flamingo, flailing at Hou with his arms while using his free leg to block Kou's leg. "I've got to make them switch!" he thought furiously.

He rolled with a punch that had finally gotten through his guard to hit his chest, using the momentum to flip backwards onto his hands. Krillin pivoted on his right hand, swinging his legs around at Hou's head while grabbing for Kou's leg. His arm buckled, though, as he felt a leg sweep it out from under him, and a savage punch to his mid-section sent him flailing several feet away. He could only roll away, but the twins were hot on his heels and did not seem interested in giving him half a moment to breathe.

The next two minutes were painful and embarrassing for Krillin, as the twins and their tandem styles negated every advantage. Even his experience fighting four people at once didn't matter, since he'd never fought two people who fought essentially as one person. Even his Thief's Fist techniques, though admittedly imperfect, really only drew out the punishment. Steelin ended it with a sharply barked "Enough!"

The twins backed away, and Krillin noticed the confident smirks on their faces. He pulled himself to his feet, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. The desire to wipe the smiles off their faces was strong in his heart. He furiously wondered why his strength and speed, which had overwhelmed them individually, hadn't worked on the twins when they fought together. What was it about their styles that he was missing? He didn't have long to think on this before Steelin interrupted him.

"Once again." the thief said simply. Taking off like two shots, Hou and Kou were after him once more.

"Pride comes before the fall, Krillin." said Steelin, disappointment filling his voice. He looked down at his student, who was sprawled on the dusty ground, battered and exhausted. "Remember that, the three of you. Never let your confidence in your abilities become arrogance. The moment you let yourself underestimate an opponent, you've set yourself up for failure."

Steelin nodded at Hou and Kou. "That was an excellent display of the Fuujin and Raijin techniques. You honor your father. I think we're done training for the day, so you're free to go. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Krillin privately."

The twins nodded, bowing quickly. "Hai, Steelin-sensei."

A long silence descended when they'd left, broken only by Krillin's labored breathing and the crunching of dirt beneath Steelin's pacing feet. Finally,

"What has gotten into you, Krillin? You've been training with Hou and Kou for a week, and each day you show them less respect. Where did this arrogance come from?"

"I need to be stronger, and I can't do that training with people who aren't on my level."

"Where would you be if that was my attitude? Or if I treated you the way you've treated your friends? Hou and Kou aren't as advanced as you are, but that does not mean they don't deserve respect." said Steelin. "I'm very disappointed in you. I expect my students to be honorable and respectful. If you cannot do that, then you will not be my student for much longer."

"Yes, sensei." Krillin replied tonelessly. Inside he boiled with anger, but growing up in a monastery had taught him to control his emotions, at least around his masters.

Steelin eyed him skeptically, as if he could read his student's emotions. "As punishment, there will be no sparring for you for the rest of the week. While I'm gone with Houou this afternoon, you will do three slow repetitions of every Thief's Fist form. As you do this, you are to think long and hard about your behavior and why it is wrong. When you are done with that, you will return to our encampment and apologize sincerely to Hou and Kou for your behavior. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sensei." Krillin said more quickly than he had before, making sure to avert his eyes.

"Good. You are a strong and capable student with great potential." said Steelin as he turned and walked away down the forest path. "But if you don't straighten up, I'll find another, less talented student. Good day to you."

Two hours passed while Krillin followed his teacher's instructions. His smoldering anger had long since died, replaced by shame at his behavior and a small amount of resentment. Steelin's warning about replacing him with another student had stunned him enough to make him really look at himself. He realized that he'd been acting towards Hou and Kou almost as badly as others had treated him at the Orinji Temple. Neither of them deserved it, because it wasn't their fault that he was more developed.

He could not help feeling slightly resentful of the fact that he had to slow down a bit to train with them. Who knew how long would their twin fighting style was going to be effective against him? Krillin doubted it would be very long, and then he knew he'd be resentful again. How could he be the strongest fighter in the world if he was held back by his fellow students? It was a question he'd asked himself before, when he'd been kicked out of the temple.

Five minutes of walking through the forest led him back to their camp site, which they'd set up in a clearing on the bank of a small river. He called out for his friends, idly wondering why the fire was starting to smolder. No one answered Krillin's call. He rolled his eyes at the obvious prank.

"Okay, you guys, this is really lame. I know you're hiding, so just come out." Krillin said loudly. He shook his head at the silence. "I know you're mad at me, but this is silly. Seriously, you're not going to scare me."

Again, there was no answer. Only after he'd looked in the tents and found no one did he start getting slightly nervous. "This isn't funny, you two. Don't make me have to come find you." Krillin licked his lips and breathed deeply, looking in all directions. It was a nervous habit he'd always had, but only in the last year had he realized that it was also the way he activated his sense smell. Because he had no nose, Krillin's tongue could also "taste" scents, and was more sensitive than a nose would ever be.

Krillin quickly locked onto Kou's familiar scent, and he sprinted up the river bank towards it, hoping the wind didn't change before he found them. He needn't have worried, though, because he found them half a minute later. They'd been knocked out, then bound and gagged and tied to a tree. He set aside his shock and anger at finding this, rushing to their sides to begin untying them. He hadn't taken two steps towards them, though, before spinning around, his nunchaku whirling madly. Two small thuds sounded as deflected darts embedded themselves in trees.

"Come out! I know you're watching, and I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to my friends!" Krillin yelled, trying to sniff out his attacker.

A figure clad from head to toe in black dropped to the ground from one of the trees, laughing mirthlessly. He was tall and imposing, though Krillin could see that he was also probably very light on his feet. "Very good, Krillin. You are a worthy student of Steelin Hood."

Krillin frowned. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" he demanded.

The man laughed again. "I've been watching you, obviously. All of you. And I've learned ever so much"

Krillin's frown deepened. This was not good. "Yeah, well if you did, then you'd know how badly you've messed up. You won't get away with this."

"Houou and Steelin Hood are away to meet a phantom thanks to me. So yes, I will be getting away with this."

Krillin snorted derisively, tightening his grip on his nunchaku. "You don't need to worry about them. You need to worry about ME!" With a grunt, he released the ki he'd used to distract the man and poured it into his arms. "_SHURIKEN HAIL!_"

Krillin's arms blurred, sending what looked like a thousand glittering shuriken at the man. It came as a great shock to him, then, to see the black clad assailant whip out a staff and, with one hard swing, deflect the attack. Ten loud thuds sounded in the surrounding trees. Krillin realized that this was no ordinary bandit, not if he could recognize the deception and strike all ten of the real shuriken with a single blow. Had the man fought Steelin before?

"Not bad, Krillin, but not bad isn't enough to stand a chance against me."

"Oh I'm just getting warmed up." Krillin lied. He knew he was still a bit tired from earlier. If he didn't end the fight quickly, he'd be in a world of trouble.

As if set off by some signal, the two flew at each other, their weapons singing in the air. Dozens of loud cracks split the air as they clashed, the misses becoming nearer and nearer while the seconds passed. For this moment at least, they were evenly matched, which Krillin could tell surprised his opponent. He didn't think that he could keep up this pace, though, unless he separated the man from his staff.

Krillin ducked and rolled under a swinging blow, then jumped up and jammed his elbow hard into the man's mid-section. His nunchaku cracked the man's wrists, loosing the grip, and a hard side kick sent the staff flying into the woods. Faster than he could react, though, the man caught his wrists in and twisted them, forcing him to drop his own weapons. Krillin flipped forward, twisting out of the grip and shoving his attacker away with his feet. Bouncing up from his crouched landing, he pushed his advantage, chasing after the man with a barrage of punches and kicks.

The fight dragged on, and with each passing second, Krillin's strength began fading. He slowly went from attacking to defending, and from defending to just barely evading. The man used his height and weight to great advantage. Worse, he seemed to see right through Krillin's use of the Deceptive Fist technique. Krillin fared slightly better when using his Orinji kung fu, but only just so. Finally, a well aimed roundhouse kick found its mark, causing an explosion of pain in his face and sending him flying ten feet. Krillin struggled to get to his feet even as the man stalked over to him slowly.

"I told you, not bad isn't good enough." He stopped and looked down at Krillin through the black mask covering his face. "You should be proud. Only a few people can say they've lasted as long as you have against me. You gave me a good run for a while there."

Krillin grunted as he pulled himself to his knees. "Ya...yer jus' lucky...I'm not rested." he slurred with some effort. Grunting again, he stood up, wiping the trickle of blood coming from his mouth. "Le's go."

The man suddenly flipped backwards several times, evading silver shuriken that thumped into the ground after him. He landed in a crouch and despite the mask covering his face, clearly scowled. "Steelin Hood." he spat contemptuously. Flipping backwards again, the man whipped off his own volley of shuriken.

Steelin stepped out and, with no apparent movement, caught every one of the real shuriken, letting the illusions pass by harmlessly. A sinking feeling went through Krillin's belly as he realized just how over his head he'd been. This man hadn't just fought Steelin before, he could do Steelin's techniques!

"Just a moment, if you please." Steelin called out. Not waiting for a reply, he turned to his student. "Well done, Krillin. If you don't mind, I'll take it from here."

Krillin nodded, backing away slowly. As Steelin turned his attention back to the black-clad man, he idly noticed that Houou had already untied his children and awakened them. The father did not look happy in the least. For that matter, neither did Steelin, who seemed to barely contain his fury.

"Attacking children? Is that what you've been reduced to? I'm ashamed for you." he said coldly.

"Save your lectures, for your students, sensei. I stopped caring about them long ago." the man shot back. "All I care about is collecting the bounty on your head."

"Ah, so it's true then? You hunt men for the Sheriff of Nottingham. Is that why you hide behind that costume? How disappointing."

"I'm not ashamed of anything and I hide from nothing!" the man shouted, his voice going strangely high-pitched.

Steelin tilted his head to the side and stroked his chin. "Oh? Then show yourself, your real self, look me in the eye, and face me."

The man seemed to tremble for a moment. Whether it was anger or fear, Krillin couldn't tell. He quickly ripped off his mask, a move which seemed to shock everyone except Steelin. Beneath the mask was shoulder-length brown hair framing a woman's beautiful face whose blue eyes sparked with anger. For the briefest moment, Steelin flinched, as if burned.

"A woman?" Krillin thought incredulously. "But she looked...and she sounded like a man!"

"First a maid, now a man hunter. If I'd known you would use your skills to aid my dear cousin, I'd never have taught you." Steelin said tightly.

"You made me go back, Steelin. You made me go back to where I had nothing, because I'd given it all up to follow you." she said accusingly. "All I had was what you taught me. What did you expect me to do?"

"To be a hero, not a villain." Steelin sighed and shook his head sadly. "You're far from home. What do you want, Marian?"

"The bounty on your head. John's paying me a lot to bring you in."

"Over my dead body." came Houou's gruff voice from behind her.

"Hold, Houou, my friend. This is between me and the lady." He nodded at the other man, flicking his eyes to his left and subtly flashing thumb and two fingers. "We'll fight if you insist, but know that you cannot possibly win."

Marian smirked at him. "It's been almost ten years, Steelin. I've learned a thing or two since then."

"I'm sure you have." Steelin replied evenly, removing his robe without taking his eyes from the woman. "Well then, shall we?"

The fight lasted for one brutal minute, and for Krillin, every second was riveting. Every feint, double-feint, and counter was seared into his brain. The skill with which they both used the Deceptive Fist and Ghost Hands techniques was breathtaking. He knew as he watched them that only Houou could really see and appreciate what was happening, and even then, he doubted the older man caught all of the subtleties on display. Halfway through the minute, two things became clear to Krillin: Marian was not nearly as skilled as her former teacher, and Steelin was holding back. He could not believe it, then, when she finished the fight with a furious combination that floored his teacher

Krillin could not move, could not even think straight. It made no sense. It almost seemed that Steelin had allowed her to win. But why would he do that? Or had _she_ been the one holding back? He looked away from them, hoping that Houou would step in to save the prince of thieves, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Hou and Kou looked as shocked as he did, casting almost uncertain looks at him, as if asking him what to do. Krillin nodded at them, praying that his body would hold out for a little while longer.

"Hold it." he called out, his voice sounding stronger than he felt. "If you want him, you go through us first."

The bounty hunter, who'd been kneeling next to Steelin, looked over her shoulder at him, and for the first time he saw that she looked almost as exhausted as he felt. She visibly struggled to her feet, her shoulders sagging and her head hanging slightly. "Don't be ridiculous, child, you're knackered." she replied. Still, she seemed wary of Hou and Kou.

"That won't be necessary." Houou had returned, and he wasn't alone. He was dragging two men behind him by their arms, and another was slung over his shoulders. Though they probably weighed nearly six hundred pounds combined, for all the effort he showed, he may as well have been dragging feather pillows. The men all wore military uniforms, and on their arms were red armbands emblazoned with double Rs. "But I think you owe us an explanation, and it'd better be good."

"Yes, I rather think so." agreed Steelin. The children did a double take. He was back on his feet, looking none the worse for wear. He eyed Marian warily, but made no move toward her. "Are they friends of yours?"

Marian sighed and sat on the ground, leaning against a tree. "No, they're just insurance, to make sure I follow through on the job. They've been tailing me since I left Nottingham."

"We'd guessed as much when we saw them earlier." said Steelin. He knelt down and examined an armband. "Since when does the Red Ribbon Army do mercenary work?"

"They're not mercenaries, they're the officially sanctioned army of the Kingdom of Nottingham."

Steelin's eyes widened. "Impossible!" he shouted. "By whose authority?"

"By your cousin's." she replied.

"John is the bloody Sheriff; he doesn't have the authority! Only the king can grant royal commission to an army, and I know damn well my uncle wouldn't do something stupid like inviting the Red Ribbon Army in."

Marian seemed to hesitate, looking away from him. "Your uncle's not the king anymore. He...he's dead, Steelin."

"No." Steelin fell to his knees, his eyes distant. "He can't be, he wasn't that old."

Marian wiped her eyes. "He'd been sick for a while. We wanted to look for you, but John convinced everyone that you wouldn't want the throne. He's been acting king since then."

"Of course, he did always want to be king." Steelin said with a small snort. "But why send you after me?"

"He needs you to do for him like you did for his father. The deadline is in two days. Otherwise one of your closer cousins would become King." Marian said. "But if that happens, who knows what the Red Ribbon Army will do."

"Scorched earth, if what I've heard about them is correct." Houou remarked.

Steelin nodded thoughtfully. "There appears to be only one course of action. I shall return to Nottingham with you, Marian, and try to talk some sense into John. If he does not see reason, I shall assume the throne and expel the Red Ribbon Army from the country."

"Easier said than done, Steelin." Houou seemed, for the first time, to be unsure. "The Red Ribbon Army is powerful. Do you really want to make them your enemies when your country has no standing army?"

Steelin smirked. "That will not be a problem, I guarantee you. Official or not, there is always an army for the king of Nottingham to command." He turned to Marian, whom he helped to her feet. "We must make haste if we're to make it on time. I shall return in a week's time, at most, and in the meantime, Krillin, you are to remain with Houou."

Suddenly, Krillin felt full of energy, and he directed it at his teacher. "No way! I'm going with you. If it's an army you're up against, you'll need all the help you can get."

Houou nodded. "We'll come too. We owe you a debt of honor, after all."

"It may be dangerous. You all know that, right?" Steelin replied stubbornly.

"Which is why you'll need us." Krillin looked to the other three nodded enthusiastically.

"Very well then." Steelin sighed, giving in. "Let's go break camp, then we'll need to find the nearest Capsule store and hope they have something in that flies."

"Don't worry about that. I've got it covered." said Marian, following him as they headed back towards their camp.

Krillin awoke the next morning to the thrumming of jet engines, feeling almost back to normal despite being exhausted and battered the previous day. He was completely unsurprised to find the three adults awake, while Kou and Hou were still asleep. He hopped out of his hammock, stretching and yawning once he hit the floor. He sauntered towards the cockpit of the mid-sized cargo plane, where Steelin, Houou, and Marian were seated. They seemed to be in deep discussion, but quieted quickly once they saw Krillin. Marian smiled at him.

"Feeling better this morning?" she asked.

"Yeah, just needed some food and sleep." Krillin replied, giving her a thumbs up. He was still a bit irritated that she'd beaten him yesterday. He couldn't be sure, but he felt that she may have been trying to tweak him about it ever since then.

"Good, because we're almost there, and I need you to be sharp." said Steelin. "Go wake Kou and Hou and make sure you're all ready to go. We should be touching down soon."

Ten minutes later, the plane swooped down and hovered over an empty stretch of pebble beach that bordered an immense forest land. It kicked up pebbles as it's engines rotated to lower it gently to the ground. As the engines slowly shut off, Marian hit a switch that lowered the cargo bay door. Steelin and Houou led the way out onto the beach, followed closely by the children.

"Looks like Marian was right about this beach. Not a soul in sight." Houou said appreciatively as he headed up towards the waiting forest.

"Yes, but I'm afraid we have a long trek through Sherwood Forest before we reach Nottingham City." Steelin reminded them.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Steelin. You're not going anywhere near the capital. The Sheriff is waiting for you just down the road, at Loxley Prison." Marian called out.

As she said this, a rustle ahead from the forest caught their attention. More than two dozen men, all dressed in the same uniform they'd seen the previous day, emerged, carrying a wicked looking machine guns that were pointed right at them. The sinister grins on their faces told Krillin everything. He turned to see Marian emerge from the plane, pointing a pistol at them and smiling triumphantly. She'd set them up.

**The Be Continued...**

Author's Notes:  
It's been three years since the last chapter. I doubt anyone is even paying attention to this story anymore. Nevertheless, I've returned to this story, thanks to a few hours of reading Kuririn: Only Human that has renewed my interest. I'm trying to seize the moment while my interest is high, and I imagine I'll squeeze out at least three or four more chapters. After those chapters, this story will finally start the canon Dragonball story line. We'll see how far I get.


End file.
